Royal Sentiment
by sephire11
Summary: Dr. Eggman creates a time portal, in order to obtain word domination by destroying the past. Rouge is assigned a G.U.N. mission to capture and stop his time traveling. She is accidentally sent to the Medieval Times, but what happens when she finds a mysterious dark knight, named Sir Lancelot (Shadow the Hedgehog)? Will love flow in the air? Rated M for upcoming sexual scenes.
1. Goodbye Present

Dr. Eggman sat effortlessly on his large chair, as he placed his elbows on his desk, while resting his forehead on his large hands, "Hmph! I can't believe that another plan had deceived me! And to think that conquering the world would work by traveling to the future."

He slammed his fist on his steel-metaled desk, wanting to let out all of the rage and anger that was stored inside of him. He felt like a failed villain; a villain that no one took serious. Every plot that he would think of, it failed. He never had a successful plot that would demonstrate his rue intelligence. He needed to think of a plan that can assure him world domination.

Suddenly, the evil scientist slowly straightened his back, as a brilliant idea began to illuminate his mind, "If conquering the future is no good, then perhaps dominating history may be easier and erasing it."

An evil smirk began to gradually form, as he would let out his loud and sinister laugh, as he brought his head back, raising his chin, "Hah, hah, hah…hah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah, hah!"

* * *

Days have passed by; weeks, maybe even months, as he was completely dedicated to finish his world dominating plan. He had no sleep, he had not eaten; all of his attention was towards his evil plan.

"Ahh…yes. Now it is finished!" The round shaped evil scientist began to program the time portal that he had created. He couldn't help but let out his wicked chuckle, excited about finally programming the time portal.

"According to the historic views and statements, in the early 1900's, the economy was overwhelming and the rate of starvation throughout the world was very high. I may have a chance to complete my dreams of conquering the world!"

Dr. Eggman proceeded by initiating the time portal, "Let's set this to 80 years from the past."

A computerized female voice was clearly heard, "80 years; programmed to travel in approximately three minutes."

The malicious scientist laughed one more time, as he rubbed his hands together with satisfaction. Dr. Eggman jumped into the portal, already eager enough to see what his plans will be like.

* * *

'_Commander Abraham! Commander Abraham! Do you read?'_ A male voice was heard through the middle aged man's ear piece.

He pressed his ear piece with his index and middle fingers wanting to hear the G.U.N. soldier loudly, "Yes, I hear you loud and clear. Report yourself, soldier."

'_Dr. Eggman is on the loose. We cannot find him anywhere! I repeat, Dr. Eggman is on the loose!' _

The Commander's multi colored eyes had widened, as his eyebrows were brought closer to each other, creating a hateful look, "Thank you for the report, soldier." He let go of his ear piece, squinting his eyelids, "Damn it!"

He needed to send one of his best agents to take care of this situation; someone who knows his every sneaky move; someone who knows exactly how to capture this psychotic scientist.

* * *

The beautiful ivory bat was occupied in her work office, finishing one of the last paper works for the day. When it came to turning in the paper work that her boss had always assigned, she always was very punctual when turning it in. Her large bat ears lightly twitched as she heard a light knock on her front door. Without paying attention to the person who was paying her a visit, she loudly answered, "Come in!"

A black and red hedgehog opened the door, exposing himself, "Are you finished?"

Rouge glanced up at the handsome friend of hers, "Oh hey there, Shadow. Now I am done." She raised her head, smiling at the dark hedgehog, "What's up handsome?"

The huntress, walked up to her G.U.N. partner, taking a few steps closer to him. She slowly ran her first two fingers across his chest, as she lowered her eyelids, "It's very sweet of you to come on in and check up on me." She brought her face closer to his, looking deeply into his bloody red eyes, "Missed me already, good-looking?"

Shadow took a few steps back, as he crossed his arms and raised one of his eyebrows, "I just wanted to see if you needed assistance on your paper work. That was all."

'_Tease…' _He thought. He had to admit that he loved it when Rouge attempted to flirt with him. Of course, he always thought that she was perhaps the most exquisite woman he had ever laid eyes on, but he had many reasons to put aside his manly thoughts about his partner. His work was first; he had no time to think of any relationships.

Rouge crossed her arms, unsatisfied with Shadow's denial to her flirtation, "What about you? Where's your paper work?"

"I recently handed them in to Commander Abraham."

Rouge couldn't handle it anymore. Shadow was driving her crazy. She didn't know what was happening to her. She had a few months with this uncontrollable attraction towards her ally. Every single time that she would speak with him, she couldn't help but feel excited to see him and listen to him. Every single time that he would save her from a fall, her heart would beat faster by the minute. Could she be falling for the dark hero? Maybe… or maybe it was just a crush, but she didn't care.

The white bat placed her hands on her hips and smiled at Shadow, "What do you say, Shadow. After I turn this in to our boss, you should… I don't know; maybe invite me to dinner, or something." She gave him a small wink.

Shadow stayed neutral about the situation, but needed to end this conversation as soon as possible, "I don't think that this conversation is business-like."

Rouge hung her long gloved arm on top of Shadow's shoulder, "Oh come on, Shadow! Loosen up a little. I'm talking about having some fun!"

Their conversation was soon interrupted by Rouge's communicator that was attached her wrist, _'Agent Rouge. Please meet me at the front lobby. I have a very important mission for you.' _

The white bat brought her wrist near her lips, replying to her Commander, "Of course, sir. I'm on my way."

Shadow walked with her, wondering what Rouge's new mission was going to be.

There he was; with a stressed and worried look on his face. He turned around, spotting Shadow and Rouge, "Agent Rouge. I need to assign you a very important mission."

The white bat nodded her head, as Shadow crossed his arms, listening to every word that was coming out of the Commander's and Rouge's mouth. He knew that this was none of his business, but when it came to missions and Rouge, Shadow would always accompany her. He found it a bit strange that Commander Abraham only involved Rouge in a mission and did not mention him, since they are partners.

"Dr. Robotnik has not given up. From the research that I had done, it seems that he has escaped from his own headquarters. I will need you to capture him. Go to his headquarters and find that bastard." His expressive eyes look determined.

"Of course, Commander. I accept the mission."

Shadow couldn't help but integrate himself in the conversation, "Sir, I suggest that I volunteer in this mission. I must participate with Rouge to completely accomplish the assignment." He couldn't just let his best friend leave unprotected and face the dangers of the evil scientist. He knew that Rouge was a very intelligent and strong woman, but he felt the need to be there with her and guard her from any danger.

Both Commander Abraham and Rouge turned their heads towards the black and red hedgehog. Rouge gave him a sweet smile, noticing how he worried about her safety. Rouge knew that Shadow had a very peculiar way of demonstrating how he cared for her. He would take the missions as an excuse to supervise her and shield any threats; she found that very heartwarming of him.

The Commander shook his head side to side, denying Shadow's request, "I'm sorry, Shadow. I can't let you join Rouge in this mission. I think that she is capable enough to handle this task."

Shadow slightly lowered his head, a bit upset about his boss's decision, "With all due respect Sir, but I still believe that I'm needed for this mission."

"I have already decided and no one or nothing is going to change that."

The dark hedgehog slowly crossed his arms and looked away, "Hmph!"

"If I see that Agent Rouge needs assistance, I will surely ask for your help." The Commander took all of his attention away from the gloomy agent and began to give Rouge instructions, "Very well then. I will need you to investigate where he is, where he is planning on going, what he is planning on doing, and who he is affiliated with. Good luck, Agent."

Rouge nodded her head, "Okay. I'll get going now with the investigation, Sir."

* * *

The huntress barged into Dr. Eggman's Headquarters, checking for any clues, or the target.

Her beautiful teal eyes wondered throughout the building "Show yourself, Eggman. I know you're in here." She spoke loudly.

There was no answer. She believed that he had escaped, knowing that the government was going to find him pretty soon.

"I guess he left already." She said to herself.

She walked up to his unorganized desk, looking for significant and meaningful clues. Her large eyes widened, letting out a light gasp, "What is he up to?" She saw his research written down on paper of many important historical events, accompanied with an odd sketch of a device. She brought the paper of the sketch closer to her face, trying to identify what it was. It was all confusing for her, but she needed to figure it out. She took her camera out from one of her hidden pockets and took multiple pictures of all of the evidence.

The white bat placed her gloved hands on his desk, as she hung her head, "What could he be planning? And what's up with the historical trials?"

Rouge went through all of his drawers from his desk but couldn't find anything that would back up any of her possible theories. She turned around, seeing a door that was half way opened. Rouge slowly walked inside of the room, keeping her safety, ready to defend herself from any guards or Eggman himself. Still, with the camera in her hands, she stopped walking, as she dropped her camera, placing her hand over her mouth, "What the hell is this?!"

An active and strange portal was floating in the middle of the room. She walked up to the computer, where Dr. Eggman had programmed the time travel.

"Eighty years? Of what?" She stayed silent for a few seconds gathering all of the evidence as quickly as possible. She suddenly lifted up the papers that the evil scientist had left on his desk, realizing that the sketch was the portal, "Eggman is time traveling! He's probably trying to have world domination by erasing history and re writing it with his conquers."

It was too much information for Rouge to take, but she needed to act quickly and send an update to G.U.N. Headquarters. She brought her wrist near her lips, "G.U.N. Headquarters, this is Rouge."

'_Rouge, this is Shadow. How's the mission?' _

Rouge continued, "Hey, Shadow. Well, that's why I needed to talk to you guys. Is Commander Abraham listening?"

'_Yes, Rouge. I'm listening.'_ The Commander's deep voice was heard inside of Rouge's ear piece.

"Okay. I have already gathered the information and evidence of Eggman's plot." She stayed silent for a second, not knowing how to tell her boss and Shadow, "Eggman created a time portal, in order to conquer the world and erase history by utilizing his modernized weapons to destroy the past. Since he was not able to destroy the future, he's trying to destroy the past and make his own future and present."

All three of them stayed silent, thinking of a plan, _'…'_

"Sir, are you still there?" Rouge questioned, as she raised her eyebrow.

'_Yes, Agent Rouge, but I have a question for you.' _

"Yes?"

'_Is the time portal active?' _

Rouge didn't like where this was going, "Fortunately, Commander."

'…_.Rouge, I'm going to need you to enter the time portal and find in the past. That's the only way to capture our enemy and protect the world.' _

Shadow immediately turned his head towards the Commander with a shocked look on his face, "If she's traveling into the past, then I'm going with her." Shadow was ready to go with Rouge. He wasn't going to let his best friend leave without him.

"No! You're staying here, Agent Shadow. I will only send you if there is an emergency."

Rouge felt like her heart stopped for a second, not knowing if she wanted to travel alone to the past. Her immediate thought was: What if I get stuck and never return to the present?

"Very well, Sir. I will travel to the past and capture Eggman." She gulped, knowing that she was very scared, but she knew that she was strong enough to face any dangers. She knew that she could do it on her own.

'_I wish you luck, Agent Rouge.' _

"Thank you, Commander. I won't let you or our team down."

Before Rouge would let go of her communicator, she heard Shadow's lovable and mysterious voice, echoing in her ear, _'Rouge…'_

"Yeah?"

'…_Please be careful…' _He knew that no one else was listening to his short encouraging words to his friend. He waited for Commander Abraham to leave. His last words didn't sound ruthless or heartless. His words sounded as if he cared deeply for her and her safety.

Rouge felt her chest tighten lightly, almost feeling breathless, "I will, Shadow… I promise."


	2. Glitches of the Past

It was all a blur, a bright white blur; everything seemed fuzzy and uncertain. She felt like she was floating in the air without forcing her purple wings to move. She attempted to open her eyes, but her surroundings were too bright. Rouge shut her eyes, as her eyelids protected her teal orbs from any bright light. Feeling sensitive to the sunny mist, her white gloved hands traveled to her large eyes, as she lightly pressed her fingertips upon her eyelids. She wanted to end the time traveling as soon as possible. She couldn't handle the distant area anymore. Rouge shook her head side to side, wanting to relieve the light headache.

Suddenly, she stopped floating in the air. Cold wind began to blow, sending chills up her spine. The high velocity of the wind took Rouge to unexpected and random directions. Her body twirled, spinned, and rotated consistently, as Rouge could no longer feel her fingertips or her legs. She almost felt like she was paralyzed.

"Ugh! Make it stop!" The white huntress yelped.

The aggressive wind that had attacked Rouge was no longer aggressive; no wind was heard, no air was felt. Rouge's body quickly had collapsed onto a hard surface, but refused to open her eyes. She wanted to lie in the ground and devour it, knowing that her horrific time traveling was not what she had expected. As she had slowly exposed her sparkling teal-colored orbs, she gradually lifted up her head, widening her eyes. The huntress gasped for many overwhelming reasons. She stood up on her own two feet, dusting herself off.

Her eyes wondered throughout the beautiful view of the fairytale – like place. Large and tall mountains, covered with beautiful grass, were visible. Tall pines added elegance and loveliness to the rest of the village. The exquisite architecture of the enormous castle and homes were breathtaking.

She raised her eyebrow and began to think profoundly, "I was expecting to see the early 1900's, not the 13th Century!"

She brought her glossed lips closer to the communicator, which was attached to her wrist, "G.U.N. Headquarters. This is Rouge." She waited few seconds, wanting a respond from someone. Nothing; no one answered.

"G.U.N. Headquarters? Can you read? Commander? Please respond."

She placed her hands on her hips, as she began to think, "I guess time traveling disconnected my communication with Commander Abraham."

Rouge unexpectedly heard young woman's voice, crying for some Queen. The white bat turned her head, staring at the woman run towards her, she raised her eyebrow, "What the hell?" She whispered.

"My Queen! My Queen! Thank the sun and stars that you have survived! How fare thee, your Grace?" A young purple cat bowed her head as she spoke to Rouge.

Rouge had no idea to what she was talking about, "Queen? Look sweetie, I think you've got the wrong girl. I'm-"

"I cry your mercy my Queen, but you must rest." She grabbed Rouge's wrist, guiding her to the nearby castle. Rouge didn't know if she should play along with this woman, but finally, she had given up and followed her to the beautiful castle.

"Alright, fine. But I have many questions for you."

"Indeed, your Grace."

Rouge rolled her eyes, kind of getting a bit irritated with the royal name calling, _'Do they say that all the time?'_

When arriving to the front of the castle, everything that was visible was gorgeous. The landscaping, the architecture, the decoration; everything. Rouge covered her mouth with her gloved fingers, amazed with the ancient beauty that her eyes were beholding. She watched how the detailed dark wooden and large double doors opened, exposing its exquisite interior adornments. Everything seemed so beautiful and elegant. Old portraits were displayed on the tall walls, the halls seemed like there was no dead end, and the antique furnishings were a nice touch to the wonderful castle.

"Through this path my Queen." As the purple cat effortlessly opened other double doors, there was a large bedroom, with much of luxury. Rouge had never seen such beauty, such a peaceful and sophisticated atmosphere. The purple cat stood right beside the door, allowing her highness to observe the royal bedroom.

Rouge took a deep breath, as she turned her head, looking at the female warrior, "This is such a breath-taking place."

The lavender colored cat raised her eyebrow, a bit confused on her comment, "My eyes can see thy gratitude to thy kingdom." She then walked towards the white bat and placed her hand on Rouge's bare shoulder, receiving her with a smile, "It is a great joy to see our royal lady in peace."

Rouge nodded her head, but still very confused. She knew that she wasn't where she needed to be. Her mission was to capture Dr. Eggman and travel to the 1900's. Rouge didn't know how she was going to do it, but she was going to leave as soon as possible.

The beautiful white bat needed to do her research quickly, "So, you think that I can ask you some questions. I was kidnapped, like you said, and I must refresh my memory." Rouge tried to act as 'royal' as possible. The female purple cat nodded her head, "Aye, Queen Guinevere."

'_What the hell?! She thinks I'm Queen Guinevere! Ha!' _

"Okay, well… have any of our enemies recently tried to destroy the kingdom?"

"Unfortunately, your Highness; it seems that thou kingdom is being attacked by a new foe." The masked purple cat frowned.

Rouge's ears perked as she crossed her arms, "R-Really?"

She nodded her head again, "It is something that my eyes have never witnessed before. This new enemy carries odd metallic knights. They mustn't be humans!"

Rouge's jaw dropped a little, 'Could it be Eggman?!' "We must stop Eg- I mean that man from destroying our kingdom and civilians."

They both stayed silent, until Rouge spoke, wanting to inform herself more about the new enemy, "What did this man look like?"

"A Sir with large whiskers, bald, and round shaped."

The huntress's teal colored eyes narrowed, having the possibility of Eggman in the same time era as her.

"Do not fear Queen Guinevere. I, Sir Percival, will shield thou kingdom. I was destined to protect our holy land." The purple cat straightened her back, standing tall and determined.

The ivory bat randomly formed a small smile on her lips, eyeing and observing the young female knight, "You remind me of a girl I know."

The Blaze look – a – like raised her eyebrow, "Pardon me, your Grace?"

Rouge let out a light giggle, "Oh nothing… just ignore it."

They both came to a silent state until Sir Percival began to talk about their previous conversation, "King Arthur has cried out strict orders to shield thy kingdom to the Knights of the Round Table."

Rouge blinked a few times, "King Arthur?"

"Indeed." Sir Percival nodded her head, "He has grown as a brave Sir, King, and partner to thee."

The white bat couldn't take in all of this information. She leaned on the chair and couldn't help but ask her, "So…King Arthur…" She shifted her head side to side, searching for someone who looked like a King, "…Is he somewhere around here?"

A familiar, young voice answered Rouge's question, "The kingdom's royal King is here to see his Queen." Both Sir Percival and Rouge turned their heads, spotting a young blue hedgehog, with an elegant red cape, swaying to the movement of the blue hedgehog.

Rouge widened her gorgeous blue-green eyes, "Sonic?!" She whispered. It was such a faint whisper, that no one was able to hear.

He walked up to Rouge, grasping her beautiful hands with his gloved fingers, as he stared at her lovingly, "My prayers to our Holy leader have heard them."

The purple cat walked towards the double doors, but before she would close them, she interrupted, "I crave your pardon my King and Queen, but my presence will no longer be in your surroundings."

The Sonic look –a – like and Rouge nodded their heads, as King Arthur gazed into Rouge's oceanic eyes, "Thou safety has given serenity to my thoughts." He whispered. The way he would speak to Rouge was in such a romantic and lovely tone that Rouge found it a bit weird.

Rouge was overwhelmed by all of this information. So much has occurred in so little time_. 'If Eggman is here, then I must pretend to be Queen Guinevere, until I defeat him.'_ She thought. "Yes, I'm also happy to be back…" She needed to not look too suspicious and behave as a King's Queen, "…and I also missed you." Still, with the embrace, she lightly rolled her eyes as she faked her words.

'_I can't believe that I'm practically married to Big Blue!'_ She thought once more.

The young blue hedgehog placed his gloved hands upon Rouge's jawlines, as he slowly pulled her exquisite lips closer to his. He unhurriedly lowered his blue eyelids, exposing less of his light green colored eyes. Rouge was, at any second, about to slap him as hard as possible. She then then knew that she needed to calm herself down and accept his kiss. She needed to get used to being Queen Guinevere.

One of his hands had traveled to her lower back, securing her beautiful body with his well-developed arms, as his lips had finally touched her soft feathered – like lips. They both closed their eyes, while they kissed each other slowly and delicately. Arthur tightened his grip, bringing Rouge's body closer to his. He wanted to feel her heat with his. Rouge had to admit that she began to get a little uncomfortable, not just because she was kissing "Sonic," but because she could tell when a man gets turned on. She could already feel the sexual tension, until she broke the kiss.

King Arthur stared into her teal colored eyes. They were full of lust and desire. That was a bad sign for Rouge.

The white bat placed her gloved hands on his strong tan shoulders, giving him a smile, "I think that we should rest." She walked towards the large bed, ready to call it a night.

He was still standing where he had kissed Rouge, looking at his Queen, "Aye. Morrow will be another sun."

The huntress lied on her side, not wanting to face the Medieval Sonic. She could not believe that she had kissed Sonic. She knew that it wasn't really Sonic, but he looked identical to the person who she referred as "Big Blue." Rouge didn't like the idea of kissing Sonic, but if acting as Queen Guinevere was going to accomplish her mission, then this would be one of the most challenging missions that she has ever had.

* * *

**Back to the Present- 12:17 A.M.**

"Agent Rouge? Please respond to my message." The middle aged man straightened his back, as his hands were behind his lower back.

Shadow stared at the large screen, hoping that his ally would answer to Commander Abraham's call. He shifted his head to the side, looking at his boss, "It seems that the time traveling has disconnected our communication with our colleague."

"Yes. Your prediction may be correct." He started to walk out, but stopped with his rhythmic clicking footsteps, "Do not stop attempting. We must have communication with our agent."

Shadow nodded his head, "Of course, Commander."

The dark hedgehog sat in front of the large screen, taking care of the technical issues. Sitting in a dark room for eight hours was horrific but his Commander assigned him to do so. Even if Commander Abraham did not tell Shadow to hear something from Rouge, he would have stayed either way. He had to admit that it worried him, just by having the thought of not seeing his best friend ever again.

Shadow shook his head, side to side, not wanting to think about anything negative. He didn't know if she was lost or if someone had kidnapped her. This was why he insisted on going with Rouge; in order to protect her and save her from any danger. Rouge is one of the most strongest women he has ever met. Her fighting and combat skills were impressive, her strength is incredible, and no to forget her intelligence. Shadow knew that she was pretty much the perfect agent. It does not mean that he has no faith in Rouge, he was just too overprotective.

He took a deep breath, trying to release most of his stress, as he leaned his back on the chair, "I don't know how, but I'm going to join Rouge in defeating Eggman. Even if it means to disobey Commander Abraham."

His shift was finally over and shut off all of the systems, except for the one that he was working on, just in case Rouge was to leave a message or something similar. Everyone had left and he was in charge of closing everything down. As he walked, all he could hear was his metallic bottom shoes making contact with the floor. Every door in the hall was closed except for one. The black hedgehog pushed the door opened, observing his ally's well organized desk. He leaned his shoulder onto the doorway, crossing both his arms and his ankles. He could easily inhale the only thing that reminded him of her; Rouge's office smelled just like her.

He wasn't going to rest until he time traveled to assist Rouge. It concerned him to think that she was in danger, or helpless, or hurt. He knew that once he proposes himself a goal, he won't rest until it's accomplished. He didn't care if Commander Abraham gets upset and possibly fires him. What was important right now was his best friend's safety and to destroy Eggman.

Shadow turned off the lamp that she had left turned on, and quietly closed her door.

* * *

**Earlier Before Rouge's Time Traveling**

Eggman's heart was racing too fast. He could feel streams of clear sweat running down his temple. His respiration shortened. The evil scientist was dumbfounded, blaming everything on the time machine. He looked down at his watch, reading clearly that it time traveled Dr. Eggman to the wrong time period. He instantly knew that the peace of metal crap had a glitch. Instead of traveling eighty years, the computer programmed it to eight hundred years. He was angry at himself for failing at another plan.

"Not again! Stupid time portal. I should have known that this was never going to work." He began to set the time portal, which was assigned on his computerized watch, ready to go back to the present. As he looked down to his watch, his eyes wondered. The image of people walking in the villages had reflected on his dark circled glasses. He observed villages and the kingdom that was visible around the dark green mountains. An evil smirk began to form upon his lips, as his long brown mustache slightly rose.

"Maybe time traveling to the Dark Ages is not all that bad of an idea."

His sinister laugh was once heard, surrounding the skies with echoes, "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Mwa, ha, ha, ha, ha!


	3. The Brave Knight of Camelot

"What is it that thou purposes?" A young green hedgehog stared at the evil scientist of ARK.

"I have a magnificent plan where the two of us can earn manipulative power in the land of Camelot. My weapons are no match for those pitiful warriors. But they must be used later on. I can't risk them right now." Eggman began to drum his long fingers onto the wooden table.

The green hedgehog's lips were formed into a large smirk, exposing his sharp teeth. A sinister laugh was heard from him, as he stared at the round shaped scientist, "Your strategy to domination is impressive. Thou and I must be intelligent in taking this step. The abduction of Queen Guinevere has come to a success. She will soon be my Queen and lover; thou and I will be rulers of Camelot."

The green hedgehog and looked at the real Queen Guinevere. She was tied in a chair, with her mouth covered with a dirty rag. The lime green hedgehog walked towards her, tracing his fingers from her tan cheek to her smooth neck, "Thou shall be my lovely Queen, yes?" He whispered, while he rubbed his black nose against her jawline, inhaling her lovely scent, "Mmm…"

found a strange resemblance on a former ally of his; Rouge the Bat. Queen Guinevere appeared very similar to Rouge.

She shook her head, responding to his comment. She spit out the old rag out of her mouth, "Never! My kingdom shall never be in the hands of thee! I would be disgusted to be thy Queen, to such a filthy sir like thou!"

The young hedgehog growled at her, as he pushed her off of the chair, "Perhaps keeping thee can destroy our plan."

He yelled out the door, "Knights! Take her to the dungeon and let her die slowly; Take her out of my sight."

Dr. Eggman widened his eyes, not believing that he was really going to kill the Queen, "You're not really going to kill her, are you?"

The evil green hedgehog let out a loud and sinister laugh, "Your humor is enjoyable. Of course she will be slayed. All that matters is my kingdom."

The young hedgehog took a seat, resting his back against the upper part of the chair, "Morrow will be the sun. We must take the journey to Camelot and attack!"

* * *

The bright sun rays illuminated the entire royal bedroom. Rouge slowly opened her eyes, blinking repeatedly, as she found her vision quite blurry. She sat up, as she stretched her gloved arms and arched her back, while taking a deep breath. She couldn't get use to the idea that she had time traveled the Dark Ages. Everything was peculiar and too strange. She shared a bedroom with the Sonic –a – like, finding it too sickening and out of her comfort zone. She needed to pretend to be Queen Guinevere to complete her mission and capture Eggman. Rouge didn't know why he felt so close and near her surroundings. She knew that the evil scientist was somewhere around Camelot, if not extremely near the kingdom. If she needed to kiss King Arthur one hundred times in order to capture Dr. Eggman, then she would.

She saw that no one was next to her in the bed, as Rouge's eyes scanned around the bedroom, wondering if King Big Blue was around. She got up from the bed, opening the two large double doors, as Rouge's head popped out in the long hallways, "I wonder where everyone's at?"

She quietly closed the double doors, as she began to walk as quietly as possible. It was impossible to keep quiet, as she could hear the echoing of the footsteps of her metallic white boots.

Rouge began to walk around the castle, as she explored the hallways. She admired everything about the décor; it seemed so elegant and exquisite. As she slowly walked to an interesting hallway, there were portraits of numerous knights. The first one was of Sir Percival; Rouge's lips formed a small smile, remembering the small bond that she had with the purple cat. She could tell that Sir Percival was a strong and loyal warrior. One thing that she did notice was that all knights had their masks on. She wondered why, but that didn't really matter for her at the moment.

Rouge unexpectedly heard a young man's voice yelling out the Queen's name. Before he would even speak, he slightly bowed his head in front of her, "Queen Guinevere! Queen Guinevere! The King must see you! An important message is what he cries for thee!" Rouge raised one of her eyebrows, as she observed this new echidna knight. He had a red mask that only covered his eyes and forehead exposing only his olive skinned muzzle, carrying two large swords, which were hanging on his sides. His shoes and gloves were shield and covered with the same material as his mask, as well as his upper chest and torso.

Rouge nodded, as she walked next to him, "Of course, Sir-"

"Sir Gawain, my Queen of Camelot."

'_He reminds me of this stubborn knucklehead I know of.' _

Once they had arrived to the entrance of the castle, she spotted King Arthur, Sir Percival, and another mysterious knight that was right beside the young blue hedgehog.

"Thy Queen is here, your Majesty." King Arthur turned around, as he smiled at Rouge, reaching out for her hand. Rouge's hand made contact with the blue hedgehog's, as he lightly kissed her fingers. He stared at her lovingly, "Queen Guinevere, you must know. Our old foe has declared bloody battles in thy kingdom. Thou must hide and save from abduction of any kind."

Rouge's eyes widened, "What? B-But, I can't-"

The Sonic look – a – like shook his head, as his gloved fingers traced her perfectly shaped lips, "Hark now, my love. Thy safety is more important. Thee must escape when our sun says fare – thee – well for today and our moon greets us for the night."

Rouge could not let that happen. She needed to stay, knowing that she needed to find Eggman, but Big blue sending her somewhere else was not going to help accomplish her G.U.N. mission.

King Arthur looked at two of his knights, "Sir Percival and Sir Gawain, your presence is no longer needed."

"Indeed thy Majesty. Weapons will be prepared for battle." Responded the masked purple cat. As the red echidna and purple cat walked away, King Arthur looked at the mysterious knight that was next to him, "My most trusted friend and knight will shield and protect thee, as if it were me."

Rouge turned her head, as her eyes gazed upon the dark knight. The blue hedgehog began to speak once more, "I will leave thee alone with the bravest knight of Camelot. I shall see my love anon."

Once King Arthur had walked away, the mysterious knight and Rouge were left alone. All they could both hear was the light whistling of the wind.

The first person to break the silence was the secretive knight. He bowed his head to Rouge, "Queen Guinevere of Camelot, I take the oath to protect thee; it is my duty as Knight of the Round Table."

Rouge couldn't keep her eyes away from him, wondering what his face looked like. His knight armor was pretty similar to the rest of the King's knights. His face was covered by a dark gray mask; his shoes, gloves, and upper armor were of the same metallic material. What captivated her most was his deep and beautiful tone of voice. He reminded her of a certain black and red hedgehog that she is best friends with.

Letting him continue to speak, he raised his head as he announced, "I hope that thou may trust my instincts." He stretched out his hand, as Rouge slowly placed her fingers upon his gloved palm. She didn't know what to say to him, but she did have to admit that, for some reason, she knew that she was going to feel comfortable around him, "Yes, I can trust you, Sir…uhh-"

"Sir Lancelot, Queen Guinevere." He nodded his head.

Rouge unconsciously gave him a smile, letting out a deep breath, "Sir Lancelot…"

The black hedgehog nodded his head, "Indeed. We will meet here when the moon shows."

* * *

**Later That Night**

As Rouge walked towards the front part of the castle, where Sir Lancelot said he would meet her.

There he was. He turned his head towards her, watching her walk towards him. He had everything ready and prepared. He had a black horse ready and a small carriage fully equipped and arranged for their long trip.

"Evening my Queen. We must leave soon before the sun rays hit the sky." Rouge nodded her head, as Lancelot led her to the carriage with a seat for her, "Over here, your Highness." Lancelot took her hand, helping her climb on the carriage, as Rouge adjusted herself on the single seat.

The black hedgehog walked towards the horse and climbed on top of it. His gloved fingers gripped tightly around the reins, "Hyah!" Their journey had now begun. All Rouge could do is study the hidden forest and its natural beauty. Lancelot stayed silent, trying to not fall asleep, as so did the white bat.

Crickets were singing, the wind was calling, and the moon was shining more than ever.

**Five Hours Later…**

The dark hedgehog stopped traveling until they had arrived to a safe area to camp. He jump off of the black stallion and began to lightly pet its muzzle, as Lancelot was eyeing the gorgeous ivory bat, "We mustn't travel more for today. Morrow will awaken us at dawn to continue."

Rouge jumped out of the carriage and walked towards the mysterious knight, "Yeah, sure."

The dark hedgehog walked towards the carriage, taking out all of the necessary equipment; wood for a fireplace, a large tent, and blankets.

Rouge was quite impressed with his camping knowledge. He had prepared everything that was needed. The tent was already made and the fireplace had lit up their large area. Rouge watched Sir Lancelot observing the brightness of the fire, as he crossed his arms while sitting down. She walked up to the fireplace, facing her palms in front of the fire, wanting to warm herself. Rouge didn't know what to say or how to start a conversation; all she could do was have short glances of him.

"So…Lancelot…how long have you worked for Arthur?" _'Seriously, Rouge?! What a stupid question…'_

Still looking at the fireplace, he answered, "For as long as I can remember. I became his loyal friend at first, and then declared as Knight of the Round Table."

Rouge nodded her head, as she couldn't keep her teal colored eyes away from the masked warrior, "I see… do you know what's exactly going on with this whole battle thing that Arthur was talking about? I was left with no explanation."

The dark male hedgehog tilted his head towards Rouge, as he answered her, "I mustn't allow my mouth to reveal any information about the battle, but since thou are my Queen, thee command is granted." He took a deep breath, "Do thou remember thee abduction?"

Rouge had no clue to what he was talking about but just played along, as she nodded, "Yes."

"Well, since thou escaped, our old foe is seeking vengeance to our kingdom." The dark hedgehog began to play with the damp grass, as the grass encircled his fingers, "Our enemy is wanting to take thou kingdom and claim it for himself. Our King was just trying to protect thou from harm."

"I, as the Knight of the Round Table, pledged to our King to always shield thou kingdom, as it is also my shelter. It is my duty as a noble knight to protect our kingdom…and my Queen. Even if it means to face death…"

They both stayed silent, as they examined the fire flames slithering upward. Meanwhile, Rouge was overwhelmed by the dedication that Lancelot took for his job and his duties. As she stared at him, he reminded her very much of Shadow. The way he would speak, the way he would sit, and his mysterious personality.

_Shadow…_

God, she missed that stubborn ass hedgehog. She wondered how he was doing; what he was up to. Her thoughts were then interrupted.

"I must say that King Arthur has a fond for thee, my Queen. After this battle ends, thou will be formally declared as Queen of Camelot."

Rouge's head quickly tilted towards Lancelot, as she stared at his uncovered mouth, "…What? As in…marriage?" _'So, King Arthur and Guinevere aren't really married?!'_

"Indeed. Holy matrimony will be an upcoming day."

Rouge needed to ask; it was stored in her throat, as her eyes traveled back to the fire, "…What about you? Do you have a special someone?"

Sir Lancelot immediately had gotten up from the grass, now standing on his two feet, as he crossed his arms, "We must rest, for morrow's dawn will be coming soon."

The white bat raised her eyebrow, realizing that he didn't feel comfortable talking about his personal life…just like Shadow.

* * *

**Present Day: 10:53 P.M.**

Commander Abraham and Shadow were sitting on single chairs, waiting for a response from their colleague.

The middle aged man pressed a large button as he clearly spoke, "Agent Rouge the Bat, please respond. We must know if you're in good conditions."

All they could do was stare at the bright screen, waiting for a response. Shadow hung his head, as he looked at the ground and his hover white shoes, He couldn't help but tighten his eyelids together, as his eyebrows gathered, "Where can she be? He lightly whispered.

Commander Abraham got up, but before walking out the door, he spoke to his G.U.N. agent, "We must shut down everything. It's late, Shadow."

For the past few days, Shadow had not gotten much sleep, wanting to hear a response from his ally. A lot of workers would tell him to go home but he would refuse and stay near the monitor. He missed her voice; he wanted to hear her saying that she was alright and that he didn't have to worry. Even if Rouge did tell him that he didn't have to worry, he would still be worried about her safety. The Commander placed his gloved hand upon Shadow's strong shoulder, comforting him, "It'll be alright, Agent Shadow. Rouge is a very strong and determined woman; she must be alive. We must have faith in her."

Shadow raised his head, as he stared at the monitor. His eyes were highlighted by the monitor's bright light, "Yes Sir. I also believe that she has the capacity to confront any situation."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Agent." Shadow could hear the automatic door slide open and close, knowing that he was now alone.

For once, Shadow felt lonely. He didn't have anyone. He didn't have Rouge with him. She was the only person that would be by his side from day to night. He was scared of losing his best friend forever.


	4. Oath of Lancelot

"_Shadow!" Rouge's tender voice made a dark hedgehog's head turn completely around, spotting his long lasting partner in crime. He could see her flying rapidly towards him. The first thing he noticed were her gorgeous turquoise colored eyes. They looked sad and desperate. She had mixed emotions that he had never seen in Rouge; it frightened him to witness that. _

_The white bat wrapped her arms around Shadow's neck, as she sobbed dreadfully upon his white furred chest. He unconsciously enclosed their loving embrace with his strong arms around her curvy waist. _

_He couldn't recognize the unfamiliar place, but it had natural green beauty. _

_Rouge raised her head, meeting her eyes with Shadow's rose colored ones, "Please don't leave me here alone, Shadow…" she whispered. She tightened her grip as she continued to cry, "I beg of you… don't leave me here alone…stay with me…." _

_Her voice faded as her body began to fade as well. Shadow hesitated and attempted to reach for her but the wind took her soul, "Rouge!"_

The black and red hedgehog raised his upper body off of his bed with his eyes shot wide opened. His head turned everywhere finding his familiar bedroom surroundings, "What the hell was that all about?" His gloved fingers ran across his brow, removing the excess of sweat. Shadow glanced at the clock, reading '2:41 A.M.'

He walked towards his kitchen, needing a glass of water. Shadow knew that he had to refresh his mind.

'_Shadow!'_

He shook his head, wanting to get rid of those horrific images of Rouge's cries. He had never seen her with those emotions. The way that she shouted his name, Rouge sounded so sad… with sorrow.

He gulped the last drops of water from his glass, still thinking about his terrifying dream, "Rouge…"

* * *

Sir Lancelot had prepared Rouge her spot to sleep on; however it wasn't to her liking. She was use to her luxurious bed at her condo with air conditioning and her own personal bathroom. Rouge refused to sleep on a couple of rags that were thrown on the ground, but she had to work with what she had. She had to share a gold and red tent with her bodyguard, which also wasn't too much to her liking.

Both, the masked hedgehog and the royal bat were sound asleep until they were destructively awakened by laser attacks. Sir Lancelot quickly got up, taking a peek of their foe. Rouge followed as she was behind him; also wanting to see what was going on. Lancelot's fingers were tightly gripped on his sword, ready to attack, "My Queen, thou must keep safety and hide."

Rouge placed her hands on her hips, "Listen handsome, I'm not going to stay here and do nothing about it. I'm going out there!"

Even though his mask covered his upper face, Lancelot turned around and glared at her, "Prithee Queen Guinevere! I am thy knight to protect thee and- "

Rouge rolled her eyes, getting a bit frustrated, "Look Lancelot, I think that I'm big enough of a girl to take care of myself. I appreciate your concern but I'm not letting you risk your own life just like that." She didn't really like that she couldn't attack others and defend herself, just because she had her defender with her. Rouge knew that she had the high skills of martial arts and combat. She worked for G.U.N. to defend people and defeat her enemies; that's why she would always practice long hours.

They both argued for another minute until Rouge listened to him and stayed. She crossed her arms and shook her head, "Unbelievable!" She didn't like being the damsel in distress; she hated that completely.

Once Sir Lancelot had walked out, he immediately spotted a round man with a long brown mustache accompanied with strange unemotional warriors, "What are those creatures?!" He whispered to himself.

Dr. Eggman let out his evil laugh, as he eyed the dark knight, "Now let me take a wild guess; you're Sir Lancelot, King Arthur's little puppy."

"Why must thou harm us?! Leave or suffer painfully as I slay you, bastard!" With his freed hand, he formed a fist with his fingers.

"Mua ha ha ha ha! I doubt that your weak little weapon will ever terminate mine! Ha!"

Rouge slid under the tent layers and hid behind a tall tree, spotting a familiar enemy of hers as she gasped lightly, "Wait a minute… that's Eggman?!"

"Attack that weakling!" Eggman commanded as his robotic minions began to shoot red beams at Lancelot. The red beams were shooting towards the knight's direction as he protected himself with his long sword. Every beam that was shot towards him, he managed to block. Rouge was quite impressed with his skills but she knew that with Eggman's technology, he would be easily destroyed.

A robot blasted a bullet, knocking Lancelot's sword out of his grip and another bullet attacked his left bicep. Sir Lancelot tightly grabbed his upper arm, as he gritted his sharp teeth, "Ugh!" The pain was a type of pain that he had never felt before. He felt like screaming but his eye sight was somewhat blurry.

Eggman's smirk widened, as his sinister laugh was clearly heard, "And to think that you were the toughest warrior of Camelot." Before the evil scientist reached for a red button that he had in his floating machine, Rouge flew upwards throwing grenades at the orange robots.

Dr. Eggman's eyebrows rose, with complete shock, until a small smirk re appeared on his thin lips, "Well if it isn't the lovely Rouge the Bat. I suppose G.U.N. sent you here, isn't that right?"

Rouge's eyebrows lowered a bit, creating a hateful look, "I know exactly what you're trying to do Eggman and I won't let you get away with it. Not over my dead body!"

Rouge could hear his evil chuckle once more and see his disgusting smirk, "We'll see about that."

Dr. Robotnik shot larger laser beams towards Rouge, as she flew out of the way and landed near the injured Lancelot. The Knight of the Round Table slowly raised his head, spotting the beautiful ivory bat as he realized that the laser was tracking her every move. The gloomy knight struggled to get up and pushed himself to run as he gripped his own injured bicep. He ran towards his Queen and pushed her away from the laser as it went through his chest armor.

Rouge widened her blue-green eyes as she stared at her knight, "Lancelot!" She turned her head towards Dr. Eggman and gave him a burning glare, "You stupid idiot!" She flew upwards as she began to spin continuously, creating her spin kick.

His machine malfunctioned as smoke began to come out of his computer screen, "Hmph! This isn't over Rouge! My plan will achieve its goal and soon you'll be part of my colonization."

As Eggman left, Rouge took all of her attention to Sir Lancelot. She kneeled down as she took him in her arms, "Lancelot, don't worry; you'll be okay." She knew that he was still alright seeing that his chest would rhythmically move up and down. Rouge's hand reached for his mask, wanting to see his face until she felt a warm hand grasp hers, "Do not remove it."

Rouge let out a small gasp as she felt his deep grip, "L-Lancelot, I have to do something about your injuries. They don't seem to be as severe but I have to cure them right away."

"Nay, my Queen. I am doing well." He whispered. Even with the mask on, Rouge could feel his beautiful gaze.

Rouge shook her head not approving on his stubbornness, "I'm going to cure your wounds Lancelot and that's final!"

Sir Lancelot lowered his head, not wanting to look at the Queen of Camelot. He took a deep breath, "Do as thou wilt, Queen Guinevere."

Knowing that she didn't have the equipment that she would usually use at G.U.N. or any sort of battlefield in the modern day, she looked for herbs and water near their campsite and clean rags in their packaged carriage. As she entered the tent, she left Sir Lancelot lied down on numerous blankets that she had extended. Rouge walked up to Sir Lancelot and sat down next to him, "How are you feeling, Lancelot?"

The dark hedgehog half opened his masked eyelids, as he eyed his royal acquaintance, "Healthier, your Highness."

Rouge began to prepare everything to cure his wounds, "I'm gonna need you to sit up."

Lancelot used his elbows to balance his position as he struggled painfully to sit up, "Rgh…" He lowly growled under his breath.

Rouge raised her eyebrow, "Is everything alright, Lancelot?" She could see the ache that the brave caballero was suffering through.

The masked knight gave her a simple nod, "Indeed, your Grace." He lied. It was a pain that never in his life has he ever experienced. He wanted to demonstrate to the Queen of Camelot that he could take any sort of battle and wounds, and never give up in order to protect her.

The white bat reached for the black hedgehog's chest armor, wanting to remove it until he flinched and stared at her shockingly, "Queen Guinevere, I mustn't allow this. A knight shall never remove his armor. A sudden attack may be startling."

Rouge rolled her eyes, _'Gosh, he's stubborn,'_ "Don't worry silly, I'm just going to clean up your injuries, that's it." She gave him a warm smile.

Lancelot's body relaxed and allowed her to expose his black and red furred skin. The white bat couldn't help but stare at the familiar fluffy white chest hair that he had. It looked just like Shadow's. Rouge began to lightly rub onto the effected abdominal area. As she cleaned the dried blood, she couldn't help but her female thoughts wonder. His hidden abs were perfection. Because of his black fur, it was hard to distinguish his flawless well developed body, but she was very close to him and couldn't help but stare at his beautifully sculpted anatomy. The brave knight eyed her as he raised one of his eyebrows, "My Queen, do thou find thee self alright?"

Rouge shook her head lightly, "Huh? Oh yeah…I'm fine. I-I just – Well, I was… never mind." She looked away and focused on curing his wounds, _'Really Rouge?! Control yourself!'_

She wrapped long clean rags of bandages around his torso tightly, "Does that feel better?"

Sir Lancelot nodded, "Certainly your Highness."

"Good. Your arm is probably as bad as your torso." Rouge scooted closer to the black and red hedgehog; so close that she could inhale his natural scented odor. It was an odor that could make many women fall for the Knight of the Round Table. The huntress grabbed his upper arm with one hand and with the other, she managed to cure his burned area.

As Rouge worked on his arm, she tried not to stare at his face; only his arm, as Lancelot observed her beauty.

"Queen Guinevere." He softly called out her "name."

"Hmm.."

"Where did thee catch peculiar weapons of explosion?" He asked bluntly, "And that round man… why did he cry out a maiden's name, Rouge?"

Rouge's body stiffened, not knowing what to answer. She knew that it was completely wrong of her to destroy Eggman's robots with her bombs but she had no choice. If it weren't for the bombs, Lancelot could have probably died.

"…My Queen?"

"Uh… w-well…that man was one of the people that had kidnapped me and he is kind of crazy. Don't worry about him." She couldn't look at his masked face. Even though he didn't expose his true identity, she couldn't possibly allow her eyes to look at him.

"And those strange explosions?"

Rouge's eyes popped opened, _'What the hell do I tell the guy?!' _"…What explosions?" She let out a fake laugh, making him think that he was crazy, "Oh Lancelot, I never knew you had a sense of humor! I don't know what you're talking about. You most likely had passed out and imagined that there were explosions."

He focused his eyesight on the Queen of Camelot, still a bit suspicious about what he encountered, "…Aye. My thoughts were perhaps incoherent."

They both silenced themselves, letting the nature replace their voices, as they heard the wind whistle continuously and bird chirping a conversation. Rouge sprinkled warm water upon his burned area; however, the warm water was too much to resist. Lancelot winced as he shut his eyes, quickly removing his arm from Rouge's care, "What's wrong?" she asked.

"The water's heat is horrendous!" He held his arm with much force.

Rouge crossed her arms and glared at him, "I know it stings but if I don't dump that hot water on your arm, later on it's going to sting more."

She took a deep breath and scooted closer to the dark hedgehog, reaching for his injured arm, "Please Lancelot let me take care of you."

Camelot's most trusted knight's body relaxed and allowed Rouge to continue with the procedures. Sir Lancelot couldn't help but examine his Queen's impeccable attractiveness. He couldn't help but examine her beautiful white hair, black long lashes, her seductive full lips, but what captivated him the most were her sparkling turquoise eyes. He must admit that the closeness between him and Rouge was to his fondness. The fact that he had someone there to cure his wounds, made him feel something strange; a feeling that was never really existent in his life. Her sakura scented body wash surrounded Lancelot's nostrils, finding her feminine side quite exciting.

Rouge raised her head, as she finally had the guts to look at the brave knight. One of her eyebrows rose, finding Sir Lancelot facing her. The black hedgehog shook his head, looking away to the ground. Little did Rouge know that behind his mask, he felt completely embarrassed. The white bat stared at him for a few seconds, as her thoughts wondered.

'_Was he just staring at me?'_

"…Well, I'm done with your arm Sir Lancelot. You seem to be perfectly fine." She didn't know how to end the uncomfortable moment.

Still looking at the dull ground, "Grammarcy, Queen Guinevere."

Rouge's lips formed a small smile, remembering how he protected her from being shot by Eggman's beams. She scooted closer to her trusted knight as she placed her hand upon his fixed bicep, making him finally face her, "Lancelot… thank you for saving me out there. That was – very nice of you."

Lancelot's covered eyes met with Rouge's, as he nodded, "Of course, your Highness. As I pledged beforehand, I will protect thee…," His hand reached for her hand that was touching his arm, as he began to lightly tighten his hold, "…even if death faces me."

The white bat gave him a sincere smile, loving how dedicated he was to his promise.

* * *

_Hours Later…_

"My Queen, I will seek for more wood."

"Oh yeah, sure. Don't worry, I won't move from this spot." She gave him a small nod.

Sir Lancelot nodded his head, responding to her as he walked away into the dark green woods. Rouge looked around the beautiful nature that surrounded her. At first she felt a bit out of place, but the nature was what she loved. She couldn't believe that she was staring at the tallest and greenest mountains ever. Or even the most beautiful lakes of history. She also loved hearing the birds calling for each other; they hummed so exquisitely.

She then heard a familiar voice; a voice that she knew that was from the present time.

'_Agent Rouge. Rouge can you read?' _

She quickly reached for her built in communicator on her long glove, "Commander? Yes, Agent Rouge here!"

'_Agent Rouge! Thank goodness we have communicated now. What is the status report.'_

She tried to not speak as loud, not knowing if Sir Lancelot would suddenly appear, "Well I did find Eggman. He did attack me; however he managed to get away."

A sigh of failure was heard from her communicator, _'Very well Agent Rouge, I wish you luck on your mission.' _

"Thank you, Sir." They both stayed quiet but Rouge couldn't help but ask about her best friend.

"Sir?"

'_Yes?'_

"May I speak to Shadow?"

'…_Unfortunately he has not showed up to his duties, Agent Rouge. But I will let him know about your call.'_

Her large bat ears lowered, as well as her eyelids, "…Very well , Commander Abraham. Thank you. Rouge the Bat signing off." She looked down at the ground, still wanting to hear Shadow's husky tone of voice. She wanted to know how he was doing, what he was up to. She had to admit that she missed her ally.

She took a deep breath, as she had speculating thoughts of her G.U.N. partner, "…Oh Shadow…"


	5. Royal Moon and Stars

"Knights of the Round Table's vow to shield thy kingdom…" The young blue hedgehog said out loud as he was holding his long silver sword in front of him.

It was a large room with a grey round table, which King Arthur and his knights had encircled. Sir Percival and Sir Gawain extended their own swords towards the table, as they bowed their head, "Our vow to shield thy kingdom will forever be our duty." They announced at the same time.

The Sonic look – a – like gave them a simple nod, "Very well, my warriors." All three of them took a seat as the two knights stared at their ruler. King Arthur began to drum his fingers onto the table, trying to think of a plan to defeat Maleagant, focusing his eyes on his shiny sword.

"Verily it is so that Camelot is expecting its foe to attack. Sir Malegeant abducted my future Queen and will try once more. If he were to abduct Lady Guinevere, our kingdom would be under his power."

The purple slender cat raised her head, as she looked at both Sir Gawain and her King, "I pray your pardon, my King, but our Highness is being shielded by thy most noble knight, Sir Lancelot, yes?"

"Aye, Sir Percival. That is why my scaring thoughts are at rest for our Queen. Sir Lancelot's nobility and bravery shall be enough to protect my dear Lady."

The youthful red echidna uncrossed his arms, wanting his opinion to be also heard, "King Arthur, thy must focus on Malegeant's army and attacks. Our sun will abandon us and he has not come hither."

The blue hedgehog nodded his head, as he completely agreed with his echidna soldier. He was right, Camelot had no time to plan their attack towards their enemy, "Indeed, Sir Gawain." The young King got up from his chair and reached out for a large map that located every part of hid kingdom. He extended the map, for the others to see, "Sir Percival shall lead thy knights to attack over yonder," King Arthur pressed his gloved index finger upon the beige colored sheet, locating her position. He then shifted his other finger to the other side of the kingdom, as he looked at his red skinned knight, "As for thee, Sir Gawain, thou must battle with Camelot's knights over yonder."

Both the knights nodded their heads, understanding their mission. Sir Percival stood up with her long sword, with a determined look on her face, "Thou must not have nightmares, thy Majesty. Camelot will be defended by its caballeros!"

Sir Gawain also stood up, feeling the same as his comrade, "Indeed, King Arthur! Our faces shall witness death if we may to protect thy kingdom!"

"Grammercy, Knights of the Round Table. Thy presence is no more needed."

"Aye, King Arthur." As the two knights had left, he gazed at the map that had outlined all of the kingdom of Camelot. Next to his kingdom was a beautiful blue lake. His fingertips ran across the image of the lake, as his eyesight had shifted off to his beautiful sword.

"I must visit the Lady of the Lake." He kept on staring at the pictured lake, needing to have a spiritual enhance on his sword.

He knew that he needed to see her. He needed to see her _badly._

He wasn't going to allow his enemies to destroy the kingdom that he has worked hard for. What mattered was that his most trusted knight and friend was protecting his future Queen. He felt as if Guinevere was the light of Camelot; the person that was destined to become the Queen of Camelot. Every citizen of Camelot knew that he and Guinevere were the soon – to – be husband and wife; King and Queen. He always did believe that the white bat was very beautiful; any man would die to have that kind of woman in their arms. It was very difficult to find that sort of female in Camelot and never did believe that that he was going to marry her. But something didn't feel right; he could not feel any sort of love connection with her. The kisses and the embraces that he has given to her felt like they weren't meant for that specific girl. The Medieval Sonic felt like there was someone else out there destined to reward his love to.

* * *

Rouge and Lancelot's journey proceeded to their hideout. Rouge thought that the view was too beautiful. She had never seen so much green natural grass, mountains and trees in her life. It almost seemed like she was staring at a well detailed ancient painting. Her turquoise eyes had then wondered towards a certain dark knight that was in front of her sight, as he was controlling his exquisite black stallion. They both were quiet; silence hugged their shared air; however it did not feel awkward.

'_Of course, your Highness. As I pledged beforehand, I will protect thee…,' His hand reached for her hand that was touching his arm, as he began to lightly tighten his hold, '…__**even if death faces me.**__'_

She unconsciously formed a small smile remembering what Sir Lancelot had promised her, _'He sounded just like Shadow.'_ She thought. She didn't know why she couldn't stop thinking about that promise that he had made to her. The way he had gripped onto her fingers, she felt like it wasn't just a grasp, it felt like he was trying to connect with her. There was so much that Lancelot had reminded her of her best friend. His way of demonstrating his dedication to his goals and tasks, and his voice. That husky and mysterious tone of voice; it sounded too similar to Shadow's.

Rouge didn't know if she was going crazy or why it was that Sir Lancelot was too much alike Shadow. There was a reason why she's been insisting to remove his mask; she needed to see his face.

Her thoughts were interrupted, feeling their carriage stop, as the white bat saw the black hedgehog climb off of the stallion and walked towards her.

Rouge raised her eyebrow, "Is there something wrong, Lancelot?"

He began to reach for all of the utensils, as if he was going to prepare for another night of camping, "Nature's sun is leaving us, Lady Guinevere."

The white bat jumped out of the carriage and placed her hands on her hips, "Oh… okay. I guess we're sleeping with the woods." She shrugged her shoulders.

About half an hour had passed when the dark hedgehog had finished with the gold and red tent, and placed the large pieces of wood, wanting to start the fire place. Rouge stood up from where she was sitting, as she walked towards the enigmatic hedgehog, "Need a hand, handsome?"

He tilted his head towards her, having his masked eyes read hers, "…My Lady, Royalty mustn't do a knight's duty, no?"

Rouge let out a light giggle, "Oh wow, Lancelot." She took the wood away from his hands as she proceeded to finish with the fireplace, "I can handle it. Just trust me!"

Sir Lancelot crossed his arms, observing on how she knew so much about survival skills. First her high skilled combat fighting moves, now the fireplace. There was something different about her. It felt like she didn't feel like royalty. She was very independent and freedom very much took a place in her book. Usually, royal future Queens would not battle or make fireplaces. They would most likely just be the damsel – in – distress and wait for the king's knights to rescue them. There was something interesting about the soon – to – be Queen of Camelot. He actually liked it; however he almost felt uncomfortable seeing her do his job, but he let her do it anyways.

Rouge walked up to him and held her head high, admiring her fine work, "Already done!" She took a quick glance, wanting to observe the view of her effort and looked back at Sir Lancelot, giving him a small wink, "What do you think? Looks good, right?"

The gloomy hedgehog kept his arms crossed, giving the white bat a simple nod, "Aye, Lady Guinevere. But I must say that thou must leave a knight's duties to me. Thee are Queen of Camelot, not a noble knight." He turned around facing the other side of the woods. He attempted to keep a distance with her; he didn't want to do anything with King Arthur's upcoming wife.

Rouge glared at him as she crossed her arms, "Are you saying that women can't do what you do?!"

"Nay my Queen, but thou will be part of Camelot's Royalty and must let others serve thee." Still not wanting to look at her beautiful features.

She now placed her hands on her hips, while she turned her back to him, "Hmph! We'll see about that." Was this the Medieval opinion? Or was he just trying to tick her off? He began to walk towards the fire, as he sat down on the long wooden log. She didn't feel his presence beside her and cocked her head to the side, "Lancelot?"

She saw how his masked face was facing the fire, "Hmmm… what's gotten into him?" Rouge took a deep breath and began to make her way towards the dark knight. Almost feeling a bit insecure about sitting next to him, but she didn't care; she did anyways. Rouge didn't know what to say, as her eyes marveled throughout her surroundings, "…So where's this secret hideout that Arthur was telling me about?"

"Our destination is close, My Lady. This may be our last moon out. It is a tiny place made for thou safety."

She began to play with the dry dust on the ground with her pink hearted tip boots, as she stared at the fire. Everything was in complete silence. Rouge didn't know how to get a word out of Lancelot. He was a hard nut to crack. He almost seemed like a robot; he would only answer her questions and only that. He wouldn't even ask her anything or learn about each other's lives. When he said that he would protect the Queen of Camelot he really meant it, but only protect, not speak to.

His sitting position was very familiar; his ankles were crossed as well as his arms, with his head slightly lowered. She was also staring at the fireplace, but couldn't help and have short glances of the masked knight.

"You know, the stars and the moon are like people. They embrace each other's lives every night; like a large family. They're there for months, years, and perhaps centuries, but they're always by other's sides."

The dark hedgehog nodded his head, "Indeed Lady Guinevere. Nature is what our reflection is of humanity. They reflect every day, every emotion, every living creature of Camelot and our other royal brothers and sisters."

"Every emotion?" She questioned. She found that comment very interesting. What did he mean by that?

"Aye, more the shining moon. Its messengers say what our royalty is sensing." Still without moving his head towards Rouge, he shifted his head upwards, wanting to take a look of the dark sky.

Rouge scooted closer to him, but he didn't even notice it, "…w-what's the royalty class feeling right now?"

Lancelot uncrossed his arms, observing the natural shining moon, "Affection and attachment, Lady Guinevere." He whispered softly.

The huntress lowered her eyelids a bit, as she gazed at Sir Lancelot, "You think so?"

"When our moon is round and as bright as the stars, thou must know that it is what thy heart is feeling." He finally turned around, facing her exquisite aquamarine eyes.

"It is thy love for my king, Lord Arthur, yes?" Waiting for her answer.

She raised her eyebrow, with a confused look on her face, "Huh?" Up until she realized that he was talking about her "love" for the Sonic look – a – like. She lowered her ears a bit, as she took a deep breath, "Oh…yeah. That's right…Arthur…"

The noble knight of Camelot probably did not demonstrate any sort of emotion but little by little, he began to feel pretty comfortable around her.

That scared him.

He knew that he could never handle any sort of friendship, especially with a female. He told himself to only see her as the Queen of Camelot, nothing more, but he liked her personality. She's fascinating to him.

He noticed the sudden change of emotion on her face. He didn't know if he should ignore it, "…King Arthur is a true gentleman, My Lady. A true warrior for his kingdom."

She ignored his comment, not wanting to talk about Arthur, until she asked him a random question, "Oh enough with my love life. It's already getting old. What about you? Have a special girl in your life?"

Sir Lancelot eyed her, finding it almost strange for a Queen to ask her knight about his love life, which was not really an exciting topic for him, "I pray your pardon, my Queen?"

Rouge rolled her eyes, "Look handsome, I know that you feel uncomfortable because I'm part of the so called royalty, but just see me as a random girl trying to be friends with you."

"As you will, Your Highne – "

Rouge rose her white gloved hand in front of Lancelot's masked face, "Ah, ah, ah! And another thing, stop with the royal calling name. It's getting really annoying!" She gave him a sincere smile as she began to let out a small giggle, finding it weird that others would call her 'Queen.'

"Deal?"

The dark hedgehog nodded, "Aye… Guinevere."

"That's more like it," She scooted closer to her knight, still eager enough to ask, "So… any girl in your life?" Giving him a coy smile, not knowing if he was comfortable enough to talk to her about his desires.

The dark knight crossed his arms once more, as he looked at the fire flames rhythmically move upwards, "Nay. Love is only gifted to some creatures of Camelot. My only duties in life are to protect our kingdom and serve as the Knight of the Round Table."

Rouge stared at him for a few seconds until she looked up at the sky, "So, you never plan on having a loved one?"

He simply shook his head side to side, "I was not gifted with the power of affection and desire. I am only gifted for war and battle, Guinevere."

Her mind drifted off to other thoughts for a moment, _'His words, his thoughts, his opinion, his personality…just like Shadow's. He reminds me too much of him.'_ She slowly titled her head towards his, as she observed his masked face, wondering if she will ever see his true identity. The only parts of his face that she was able to see were his beautiful thin lips and his tan muzzle. Rouge stared at the upper part of his mask, wondering what his eyes looked like.

Her gloved fingers unconsciously reached for the metaled mask, wanting to lift it up, but warm fingers embraced hers, removing it from his face area, "I mustn't allow thou to expose my identity."

Her eyes sparkled gorgeously under the fire's light, "…when will you let me see your face?"

He lowered his head, not knowing what to answer her, "…Belike never…" He got up from the wooden log and stood further away from the white bat with his arms crossed.

* * *

_**Present Day**_

"I'm sorry Shadow but I cannot let you interfere with Miss Rouge's mission. I will call you if your assistance is needed."

Shadow crossed his arms as he stared at his Commander, "I understand Commander Abraham, but she has not returned any of our messages. We need to find her." He wasn't going to let him win this argument, not until he would convince him to let him go.

The middle aged man shook his head, "I'm going to have to decline your request, Agent Shadow. I'm sorry." He walked towards his desk as he took a seat, occupying himself with pending paperwork that he needed to approve.

Without lifting up his head, "You're dismissed, Shadow."

His gloved fingers were formed into fists, almost trembling, "Very well, Commander."

He took his footsteps towards his office, as he opened his door, hearing the faint creaky sound. Walking to his desk chair, he rested his sticky palm onto his forehead. He needed to find a way to help Rouge. It wasn't just Rouge, but he wasn't going to allow for Eggman to get away with this evil plan. He made a commitment to himself and he was not going to allow the threatening scientist to become the dictator of the world.

He tightened his closed eyelids and re-opened them with focused and determined red orbs.

* * *

_**Dr. Eggman's Base**_

"The time portal isn't fully functioning." He was kneeling in one knee, as he rubbed his chin with his index and middle finger, along with his thumbs. He could visibly read on the rectangular screen the amount of years that the machine was programmed for. It was a bit difficult for him to fix the time portal, knowing that Rouge would be the one to do this type of work. Whenever they were in a mission, Rouge would take care of the broken and damaged portals or computers, and of course the research of all missions.

"There must be a way to fix this mechanism." He stood up, looking down at the marbled ground, pondering through his thoughts.

* * *

The young looking yellow fox's eyes focused completely on his new experiment. Without keeping his eyesight away from the odd looking metallic object, his hand wondered behind him, "Where's that wrench?"

His fingers encircled his steel colored tool, "Ah, here it is!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Tails dropped everything, as his oceanic blue eyes stared at his wooden door. He didn't want to open his door and he wasn't going to. The knocks were too aggressive. Who was it? It certainly wasn't Sonic or Knuckles. They wouldn't knock that aggressively. And it certainly wasn't Amy… unless she was looking for Sonic and upset with him at the same time.

The banging on the door was constant until it was tumbled down, as the dark shadow covered Tails's face. His eyes narrowed, as his mouth dropped, "What does he want?" He whispered to himself.


	6. Distant Relations

His beautiful ivory horse took a few steps towards a dark teal colored lake. The environment felt peaceful and filled with harmony, yet its appearance seemed dark and gloomy. The young blue hedgehog climbed off of his white horse, taking insecure footsteps near the gorgeous lake. Everything was lovely; the water of the lake looked so pure and holy, as it almost glowed. His lengthy gloved fingers encircled around his long silver sword, as he was holding it up to the clear sky, "My Lady: Lady of the Lake. Hark my prayers, for thou sacredness is needed." He stated out loud.

Arthur waited for her to answer, but no one appeared. His forest green eyes looked up at his sword, pointing up to the sky, until he stabbed it to the ground. Suddenly a faint light had appeared, hitting the blue hedgehog's face. He covered his sensitive orbs by protecting them from the bright light.

"Lord Arthur, future King of Camelot. Thou cries have been heard." A young pink hedgehog appeared before his eyes, as he stared at her youthful exquisite features. She had shoulder length hair, paired with her lime green eyes. A smile had curved upon her lips, as she extended her arm towards the blue hedgehog. Somehow she floated up to him, having the blue hedgehog kneel on one knee, as he bowed his head to the girl in the faded blue dress.

He spoke with his eyes closed, feeling a bit ashamed to have to ask for power and strength. He knew that he was strong, but he wanted to fully defeat his longtime foe, "Lady Nimue, my Lady of the Lake, thou holiness is what I desire."

He could feel warm fingers touching his shoulder, as he looked up at the beautiful pink hedgehog. She gave him another warm smile, as he stood on his own two feet, gazing at her.

"Pray tell, Lord Arthur."

His eyes shifted down to his sword, "Thou may have heard my people's thoughts, as for Camelot will face its foe, Maleagant, for this sun." He looked down at her, with a strong stare. It was a stare of hope and faith. He knew that he could trust Nimue with anything and everything, "I pray you, Lady of the Lake, lend me power and strength to hark our victory."

She held her head high, with much positivity, "Lord Arthur, prithee let me see thou weapon." He effortlessly removed his sword from the damp ground, holding it with both of his hands. The pink hedgehog placed her hands on top of King Arthur's long sword. She closed her eyes, exposing her pink eyelids, with faded blue coloring on the crease of her eyelashes, as she whispered a different language, which he never could understand.

"_Zarfunial fchutlal qrezetal ortagetal korfedaster amegoul_" Arthur's sword began to glow powerfully. The Sonic look – a – like had widened his green eyes, not knowing what Nimue was doing. As the glow of the sword had faded, he stared down, observing the changed sword. It felt durable, stronger, and powerful. He almost felt invincible with his new sword.

The young female hedgehog opened her eyes, as she stared at King Arthur, "Thou sword is now Excalibur, Lord Arthur."

She continues explaining about how strong and how much power the sword could hold, he just needed to learn how to command it correctly, "Excalibur can slay any creature that is on sight. Thou just have to have faith in it and treat it with much respect."

He put his sword away on his side, as he focused his stare on the pink hedgehog. He gave her a warm smile, as he softly grasped her gloved fingers, bringing them close to his pale lips. He closed his eyes, while he placed a tender and gentle kiss upon her fragile phalanges, "I do humbly thank thee, Lady of the Lake."

She looked at him, as she observed his handsome face, returning him a faded smile, "No need to thank, Lord Arthur." Nimue unconsciously placed her warm palm on his strong shoulder, "I help because I wish to help thee."

They stayed in that certain position for a few seconds, until King Arthur let go of her fingers, "I must leave, Lady Nimue, for my knights are waiting for battle." When she heard those last few words, she couldn't help but frown along with a sadistic look on her eyes. She had known King Arthur for such a long time and whenever he would come to her for support before a battle, she would think that he may not come back alive. But she had faith in him; he is a strong knight.

"Fare thee well, Lord Arthur." The blue hedgehog gave her a nod, as he climbed onto his horse waving at his longtime friend.

* * *

"Our King is not in sight! What must we do?" Sir Gawain exclaimed ferociously. The purple cat shook her head, finding her echidna partner a bit too aggravated.

She crossed her arms, "Patience Sir Gawain, King Arthur shall arrive anon." Their heads turned around to the other side of the crowd, hearing quick footsteps of a horse, "Grammercy to the heavens! King Arthur, battle is soon to be here!" Sir Gawain walked towards the young soon – to – be King. The oceanic blue King climbed out of his horse and walked forward, as his other two knights had followed him, "Sir Gawain and Sir Percival, set yourselves to thou duties. We must slay Maleagant once and for all." His green eyes looked fatal and determined. He wasn't going to let that lime green hedgehog take over his kingdom.

Their expected guests have arrived shortly after King Arthur had. He could see Maleagant's devilish face from afar; it sickened him. The green hedgehog slashed out his large sword, while controlling his brown horse. You could see all of his troops perfectly lined up to their Commander's side. King Arthur wasn't outnumbered; there were almost the same number of knights as their opponents.

Everyone was silent; only the echoes of the flying eagles and the invisible wind swooshing around everyone's ears. The blue hedgehog slashed out his sword as he rose up to the air, "Camelot attack!" He screamed.

All of Camelot's knights ran towards their enemies, ready with their swords above their heads, just like King Arthur. Sir Percival's sword clashed with her enemy's, as she used her arm strength to push him to the ground. Sir Gawain sneaked behind one of Maleagant's followers and slashed his back, seeing his lifeless body hit the ground, as his dark eyes slowly closed. Hours had passed by with the bloody battle. King Arthur and Maleagant encircled each other, not leaving their eyesight away from each other. The Medieval Sonic gripped his long gloved fingers around Excalibur, having faith that he will be able to defeat the evil hedgehog.

Maleagant's lips formed a small devilish smirk, eyeing the blue hedgehog, "…will the King of Camelot flee from his own battle? Thou seem to feel nervous, aye?"

He clenched his teeth, finding him too irritating, "Nay, bastard! Thee shall not over rule me!" He ran towards the green opponent, clashing his sword to Maleagant's, forming a large "X" with both swords. Attempting to use with arm strength, he wanted to knock him down with his sword, until he felt the lime green hedgehog's foot push Arthur to the ground.

He immediately got up, not letting go of his new sword, as he blocked the Scourge look –a – like from slashing him. They kept battling, as their swords collapsed on their sides, up in the air, and near their knees. Arthur managed to make Maleagant drop his sword to the damp ground, as he pointed the tip of Excalibur near his opponent's neck, "Our battle is over, Maleagant." He whispered hateful.

The green hedgehog formed a sinister like smirk, as his icy blue eyes stared at Arthur's dark green ones, "Hmph. Indeed, King Arthur. But not for now!" He said sarcastically as he achieved to kick his legs, making him fall on to his back. He quickly got his sword and ran towards his brown horse, "Knights! We must leave, for our final battle with Camelot will be anon!"

As his troops followed along, Maleagant looked back, observing the battlefield with some of his henchmen lifeless. He closed his eyes, thinking about a new plan, "Camelot shall be my kingdom." He whispered. A low laugh humbled through his lips, as he finally opened his blue eyes, "This land's queen has been slayed. This battle will easily be my victory!"

King Arthur stood tall; as he saw his enemy and his troops leave his kingdom. Behind the future King of Camelot, stood Sir Gawain and Sir Percival. The red echidna walked towards the blue hedgehog, "Shall we declare our victory, Lord Arthur?"

He lowered his head, frowning at the ground, "Nay, Sir Gawain. We must keep guard." He finally raised his head looking at both the young echidna and the purple cat, "This is only the beginning of Camelot's battle."

Lord Arthur walked away silently, going towards the entrance of his beautiful castle.

The youthful purple knight watched him leave, "Hmmm…" She lowered her head.

Sir Gawain turned around, as he stared at her. Even if her face was masked as the rest of the knights, he could tell that there was something that she didn't like or something was troubling her, "…Sir Percival, are thou alright?"

She raised her chin, as she looked at her comrade, "Nay…our King seems to be bothersome."

He walked up to her as he placed his hand on top of her shielded shoulder, "Thee must not worry for our King, for he knows best." He knew exactly what she was talking about. He also felt like the miniature war with Maleagant and his soldiers wasn't a complete success. They left the battle like cowards and they were going to come back perhaps stronger.

* * *

_**Hours Later in the Castle…**_

The hedgehog King of Camelot was looking out of his large window, watching his people living their lives. He turned around as the rustling sound of his red cape followed his lead. Arthur sat down on the nearest chair, trying to distract himself by staring at his map where he had clearly marked the Knights of the Round Table for their earlier battle.

There it was again.

The lake.

The Lady of the Lake.

Nimue.

His longtime friend.

He unconsciously smiled at the thought of his optimistic female friend. They had known each other since they were children. He would never been as opened as her, considering that they had completely different personalities. He had to thank her for so many things. Whenever he needed her for something, he knew that she was there to assist him.

Arthur then remembered when he visited her to tell her about him getting married to Guinevere. His eyes shifted to the side of the map, staring at the pictured blue/green lake.

"_Lady Nimue! I have news for thee!" He walked towards the young pink hedgehog, as he grabbed her hand. _

_She smiled at him letting out a small giggle, "What may that be, Lord Arthur?" She loved seeing him happy. He always appeared to be smiling and happy, but sometimes he would cover his saddened feelings or stress with a smile… a broken smile. But she knew very well that he wasn't emotionally broken; she loved that. Her friend's happiness filled her heart with joy. _

"_Holy matrimony will be a day to come soon with my beloved Lady Guinevere." His beautiful forest green eyes shined_ _than ever. Nimue could tell that he has never been so happy about such news. Her beautiful smile slowly lowered as it formed into a frown, tilting her head just a bit to the side. She didn't want to look at him at that moment. _

_She raised her head, looking at her childhood friend with a forced smile. She didn't want his warm hands to touch hers, as she let go of his touch, "Any maiden would be fortuned to have such a Sir like thee, Lord Arthur." _

_The blue hedgehog raised his eyebrow, finding his miraculously friend acting strange, "…Lady Nimue?" _

_She walked towards the teal colored lake, letting the cold water hug her body and her blue dress, "I must leave. Many things are to be done. I shall see thee anon." She didn't know why she didn't agree with having her longtime friend getting married; it just didn't feel right. When she heard those words, she felt a knot in her throat, as if she wasn't able to breathe anymore. She felt time stop; she felt like her heart had stopped beating, she felt as if her hands had grown numb. _

_He walked up to her, wanting to reach for her hand, until she disappeared. She was gone. _

He remembered that day and he always wondered what bothered her about the idea of getting married to Guinevere. His eyes softened about the thought of somehow hurting the one person he truly cares about. He did know that she had some deep feelings for him, but she tried to ignore them and remain as good friends. Ever since the day that he had spoken about getting married, she had changed. She would normally speak to Arthur as a friend, but now it almost felt like she was placing an invisible brick wall in between him and her.

He wanted to break that brick wall.

Arthur stood up, as he ran outside.

"Lord Arthur? Where is thou going? Our shining moon has greeted us for today." The purple cat asked curiously.

He ignored her as he climbed on to his white horse, "Hyah!" The albino horse began to run as fast as he was commanded to, as Sir Percival could not see her King anymore. The darkness had embraced the blue hedgehog and his horse.

* * *

Rouge and Lancelot had spent all day traveling, until she couldn't take it anymore. It was getting tiring and annoying, but she had to understand that she wasn't in the present; she needed to compromise with time traveling.

Lancelot and Rouge began to do their usual daily routine for the night: unloading their equipment.

_**Hours Later…**_

"Lady Guinevere, may I ask thee something?" The dark hedgehog spoke lowly.

Rouge turned her head to the side, as she looked at Lancelot, "Sure, shoot."

"Those combat skills… where did thou learnt?" He wouldn't look at her at all; he would just keep his stares and gazes on their illuminated fire that _she_ had made. He remembered how much she insisted again into making the fireplace; he almost found it pretty amusing.

She stayed silent for a second, needing to make her novel believable, "Uh… well… Arthur – yeah Arthur helped me learn about combat fighting. He's very good at teaching combat fighting, I must say." She gave him a small smile, but he didn't return it.

He gave her a simple nod as he sat with his arms crossed. He looked so reserved, so closed. He just looked like he was deep in thought like always. Rouge often wondered what he was thinking.

She looked down at the ground, trying to figure out a topic to talk about, "…Hey Lancelot, do you have family?" She asked harmlessly.

Even with his face covered because of his mask, his eye pupils narrowed, almost softening. He didn't answer her question. He didn't want to talk about that topic; in fact he didn't feel like talking anymore.

She could feel the tension that he was accumulated upon his shoulders. Her eyes softened wondering what was going through his mind. He was awfully quiet and it made her think, _'Maybe it's a bad time to ask I guess…' _

Rouge placed her warm hand on his shoulder, "You okay?"

He didn't want to look at her, "…Aye." He lied. She knew that he was lying; she could still feel the strange tension between Lancelot and herself. For some reason, he didn't want to talk at all. If she would ask about him or something about his life, he would sometimes answer, but his answers would just be so vague and short. Rouge had to admit that she grew some interest in Lancelot, which she badly wanted to ignore.

"Lancelot, please look at me." She spoke softly, yet he wouldn't turn around. He didn't want to look at her. She took a deep breath giving up on her order, "Alright, fine. Don't look at me, but listen."

The black hedgehog's ears perked, as he titled his head to the left, not wanting to look at his Queen.

Rouge lowered her eyelids, not letting go of his shoulder, "I'm sorry if I asked. But I won't ask any further. All I wanted was to get to know a little about your life."

Lancelot finally turned his head towards Rouge, seeing her sincere blue-green eyes. He shrugged off Rouge's hand away from his shoulder, not wanting her to touch him, "Thou must know that a Queen's knight shall only focus on their true duty, which is to shield thee, not speak of such nonsense."

Rouge raised her eyebrow as she focused her eyes completely on the masked dark knight, "…What're you trying to say?" She knew exactly what he was trying to say to her.

He lowered his head, as his masked eyes stared at the dull ground, "We mustn't be companions any longer."


	7. Wanted Feelings

Rouge's aqua like orbs shined because of the lighted fire that illuminated half of her face. She didn't know what else to say. What was he trying to hide from her? He would just make everything into one mysterious life. The white bat stood up on her two heeled white boots, crossing her long gloved arms, as she cocked her head to the side, "Hmph…"

The G.U.N. female agent began walking towards the untracked forest, not wanting to put up with Lancelot's behavior. As she stumbled upon the green nature, she kept on scolding about Sir Lancelot's moody arrogance. She tried to understand him because of the traveling but Rouge couldn't always excuse his temperamental feelings, "That hedgehog's gonna get it. I swear that I try to give him his space but when I talk to him, he just pushes me away like if I was an object or something!" She kept on complaining until the darkness of the woods was lightened by the bright shining moon. She had never seen such a beautiful sight in her life. Near her covered feet, was a gorgeous lake. The natural water looked so pure and untouched, as the brightness of the moon reflected the shimmery outline of the lake.

"Oh gosh… this is stunning." Her fingertips delicately swayed to the movement of the water, feeling the coolness of the pure liquid through her fingers. Rouge slowly lifted her eyelids, in the search of anyone near her, "Hmm…"

* * *

**Fireplace with Lancelot**

His armored arms were crossed like always, as he stared deeply into the orange flames swirling upwards. He knew exactly what he was doing and knew perfectly that he was on the right track. His friendship with his Queen was to be no more. It was impossible to keep such a strong friendship with the one that you must protect. King Arthur had sent him to _protect_ Lady Guinevere, not increase their friendship state. He was never great maintaining friendships because of his repulsive past. Everyone in Camelot knew that Lancelot had a heart breaking past, but his lips would never release any of his historical memories. The people of Camelot, including the blue hedgehog, have always wondered what was so bad about Sir Lancelot's past. What made it so secretive and mysterious?

The black hedgehog's head slightly rose, bringing his thoughts back to Rouge. He stood up as he shook his head, "Lady Guinevere must have wondering spirits near Camelot's nature." He needed to find her before she would walk any further into the forest and not find her way back. He looked down at the dark brown dirt, spotting the visible trail of foot prints that she had marked. As he began to follow her footsteps, he saw the same beautiful lake that Rouge had seen. Lancelot hid his masked face with the large tree leaves, wondering what the white bat was doing near the lake.

The huntress clenched onto the pink heart shaped part of her jumpsuit, as she slowly began to semi revealing her upper body. As Rouge removed the pink breast cover, the black jumpsuit cover the bottom half of her breasts. Her long white gloved had already been removed and as well as her pink heart shaped boots. The tight black fabric still covered most of her until she placed her thumbs inside the black jumpsuit and gradually pushed it downwards, exposing her beautiful chest, gluteus, and her well-built legs.

Lancelot's face was masked but his eyes brightened more than ever. He couldn't keep his eyes away from her. The dark hedgehog was not able to completely see her in the nude, but he was able to see the outline of her beautifully sculpted body. He shifted his head to the side, wanting to ignore the flawless image that was in front of him. His eyes unconsciously wondered back to Rouge, as he devoured her curvy body. He could just imagine how smooth her healthy tanned skin felt, how gorgeous her long legs were, how beautiful her large tan breasts looked. He felt a bit disappointed because of the fact that he couldn't see all of her detailed anatomy, but it didn't matter; the view was quite satisfying. He knew that it was wrong to stare at her admirable beauty but he just couldn't help but let his eyes wonder.

* * *

**With Rouge Near the Lake**

Rouge allowed her bare feet to wonder in the clear blue colored water, as she quickly allowed the rainwater to embrace her ravishing frame. She ran her bare fingers upon her shoulders blades, down to her neck as she closed her eyes. She fell in love with the lake; the water temperature was perfect and as well as the atmosphere. Rouge gracefully swam, focusing on how the flow of the water would hug her every arc and curve, "Mmm…" She moaned.

Not too much of a far distance was Sir Lancelot located at, as his eyes, focused completely upon his soon – to – be Queen of Camelot. Never did he believe to ever see the white bat in this scenario. He finally decided to walk back to their fireplace, knowing that Rouge was fine and that he had found her in the lake. Besides, he didn't want Rouge to spot him and face the embarrassment to answer the series of questions. Lancelot shook his head and began walking towards their fireside area. Once he had arrived to their campout area, he sat down on the long wooden log, as he situated himself onto his sitting position; arms and ankles crossed. The black hedgehog lowered his head, staring at the dull ground; letting the crickets sing loudly and hearing the sound of the light wind.

The mysterious knight began to shake his head side to side, trying to remove the tempting images of the white bat. Lancelot let himself tattoo Rouge's glorious curves in his thoughts and imagination. The way she bathed herself, the way she swam gracefully across the lake; he didn't know what was happening to him. He felt filthy as a man because of the spying, but he needed to stay and devour her exquisite anatomy.

Lancelot growled at himself, needing to pull it together. He pushed away his manly thoughts and replaced them with his knight – like behavior. The dark hedgehog kept reminding himself that he was not here to make any sort of friendship or create a bond with anyone, especially with Lady Guinevere. He kept repeating to himself that he was here for one duty and one duty only: to protect the future Queen of Camelot.

"Why so stern? Something happened?" A sudden gentle yet gorgeous voice was heard. Sir Lancelot lifted his head, as his eyes spotted the ivory bat. This time, she had her clothes on. He quickly stood up walking towards the tent that he had prepared.

He was caught off guard, still not able to recover his rapid heartbeat as he looked at her. When he saw her, the black hedgehog couldn't help but think of the lake scene. It wasn't normal to see a woman with that perfect body shape.

"Thou must let thy eyes ease for morrow will come." As he entered the tent, Rouge quickly followed him inside, getting too annoyed of his distant comportment. She was going to end this now.

"Lancelot, what the hell is up with you?" She placed her hands on her hips. She watched him prepare her the area in which they were going to sleep on. He ignored her, as he didn't respond to her question.

She raised one of her eyebrows, _'Is he trying to piss me off?' _"Are you not going to answer my question? I'm no puppet, you know?"

He didn't feel like answering because of the limit of trust that he placed between him and her. The dark hedgehog didn't want to open up to anyone; he didn't want to talk to anyone. In their silence, he began to think that he was disobeying her and he felt like he was against the Oath of a true knight. He took a deep breath, surrendering to his "Queen." He moved his head to the side, as his masked face was partially seen, "Forgive thy knight, Lady Guinevere, for such foolishness."

Rouge walked up to him, trying to read his every movements, "Okay… but you still haven't answered my question completely. Why are you acting so weird? And earlier, you even said to me that you didn't want to be friends. Why?" He could hear her voice softening when she repeated his words.

He didn't know what to tell her. He knew that he wasn't to tell her that he was too caught up with his past. Ever since he saw the day he lost something near and dear to him, he restricted his emotions. He didn't want to be friends with anyone. The closest person that has gotten to him was King Arthur, but not close enough to see the blue hedgehog as a friend. He was afraid that it would happen with the beautiful white bat. His goal as of right now was to not have too much contact with Rouge, but it was impossible. For some reason, he felt like she could understand him completely if he were to open up but his conscious would say to not let anyone interfere with his emotions.

Rouge lowered her eyelashes, not sure if she should insist, "…Lancelot…" She was ready to say something until she shook her head, "Never mind. Just forget it."

The dark hedgehog watched as he saw her adjusting herself on her sleeping area. She looked irritated. He didn't blame her at all. As he also adjusted himself onto his sleeping position, he started to think: if she would have insisted, would he have told her what was the real reason towards his dark behavior?

No, but he would have most likely hinted something towards the reason.

* * *

**The Next Morning…**

The bright yellow sun light embraced Rouge and Lancelot's surroundings. The G.U.N. agent slowly lifted her long eyelashes, feeling something against her body. Her beautiful teal orbs widened finding the gloomy hedgehog's arms around her curvy waist. Rouge attempted to remove herself away from Lancelot's grip, but he unconsciously tightened their embrace. His long black nose and thin lips were placed on her smooth neck arc, feeling his light breathing tickling her sensitive skin. As he unintentionally tightened his hold, Rouge could feel her breasts pressing harder onto his warm armor and her long leg lightly brush against his hip. Her eyes focused on his masked face, _'Is he ever going to get rid of that mask? Does it even bother him?'_

She suddenly formed a small smile, as she could clearly hear the sound of his heart rhythmically beating. Rouge stared back at his sleepy disguised face, until she focused on his tan muzzle. That was the only part of his face that she was able to see. His tan was perfectly bronzed and the shape of his lips was flawless; he had beautiful lips.

_They looked just like Shadow's lips. _She couldn't help but miss her best friend. She missed hearing him call her name, and she missed calling his.

Her fingers involuntarily lightly touched his lips, feeling the smoothness. It was such a soft and light touch, that she barely felt it.

* * *

**The Present Day – Tails's Work Shop**

"Sorry about that, Shadow. You just banged on my door very aggressively." The young fox boy smiled sheepishly.

The dark hedgehog crossed his arms, making eye contact with the young genius boy, "I never believed that I would come here for a situation like this…" He then looked down at the wooden floor, "…but your assistance is needed."

Tails nodded his head, "Sure, what do you need?"

"Dr. Eggman traveled to the past in order to obtain word domination again and G.U.N. had sent Rouge to stop him; however, I know that I must help her in order to eliminate his plans."

"I don't mean to say anything bad about the government but shouldn't they do something about it? I mean, it is a G.U.N. mission after all, right?"

"Yes but unfortunately, the Commander does not want anyone else interfering with his plans."

The yellow fox placed tapped his chin with his index finger, "…So, you want me to build a time portal?"

"Precisely."

"I see…" He began to think of a way to obtain that much power, "I can build a time portal but I will need a few chaos emeralds for-"

Tails widened his eyes as he saw the chaos emeralds already in Shadow's hands, "Y – you got the chaos emeralds already?"

Shadow eyed the young looking fox, "These chaos emeralds are from G.U.N. I stole them in order to create the time portal. I did some research before paying you a visit."

Tails smiled, "Alright then. I'll get started right now and I'll let you know when I'm done with it. I will tell you that it may take me a few months to finish."

Shadow nodded his head, "Very well." He began to walk towards the door until he stopped and shifted his head to the head, "Another thing before I leave. Do not let anyone know about this talk or the G.U.N. mission; that includes the blue faker, understand?"

Tails gave him a simple nod.

"I'm already risking my G.U.N agent position by going against the Commander's orders and involving a boy in a separate mission."

There was no turning back now. The fox boy said that he would start working on the time portal and then the day would come when he would stop Dr. Eggman from destroying the past and help Rouge with her mission. He didn't know why Commander Abraham didn't want him to assist Rouge with the mission. It made no sense, but it didn't matter. Shadow wasn't going to allow the Commander to limit his promise to protect Earth; he was his own command.

* * *

**Rouge and Sir Lancelot**

She looked up at him, wondering what had gotten into him. She woke up with a strong embrace of her dark knight, _'He probably had a nightmare or something.'_ She thought.

A yell of a young man was calling out for Guinevere and Sir Lancelot, "Thy Highness! Brave Knight of the Round Table, Sir Lancelot!"

Rouge's ears perked as she could clearly hear a faint yelp of a man. Fewer seconds had passed until Lancelot slowly raised his head, listening to the yell too. He looked down to his neck level, seeing his gorgeous Queen so close to him. The black hedgehog quickly removed his body away from hers, yet his arms still felt the warmth and the vibe of her body heat against his.

Rouge cleared her throat, trying not to make their morning awkward, "Good Morrow, Lady Guinevere." He said lowly.

She ran her slender fingers through her soft short hair, attempting to not make any eye contact with Lancelot, "G-Good morning, Lancelot."

"_Queen Guinevere! Sir Lancelot!" _The boy's voice was heard once more.

The hedgehog and the bat walked out of their tent, spotting a grey hedgehog running towards them. Sir Lancelot blocked Rouge, trying to protect her from any stranger. His left fingers tightly grasped onto the sword's handle, ready to attack.

As the lad had gotten closer, Lancelot quickly recognized him as one of the royal messengers, "Thy Highness! Sir Lancelot! Thank the heavens that I have found thou!"

Rouge raised her eyebrow, wondering why the boy was so desperate, "What's going on?"

"King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table battled against Maleagant and his army!"

Rouge, for some reason, thought of Eggman when the young man mentioned Maleagant, "And what happened? Surely, Camelot won the battle, right?"

He lowered his head, "Nay, my Queen. Our enemy fled and our King of Camelot bethinks to shield thy Queen more wisely." He now looked at Sir Lancelot.

The dark hedgehog nodded his head as he crossed his arms, "Indeed. Hark now, messenger. King Arthur mustn't fear for Lady Guinevere's life, for I will guard her."

"Tis' most splendid, Sir Lancelot." The young boy began to run back to the path of the land of Camelot.

"So what's gonna happen now?"

"Thee must be safe some other place." He began to pack up all of their equipment, as Rouge helped out.

"Where exactly?"

"…My father's kingdom."


	8. Darkened Truths

"Ah Agent Shadow – please come in. I've been meaning to speak to you about Agent Rouge's mission."

The dark hedgehog silently closed the wooden door, making his way towards the cushioned leathered seats, facing the Commander's aging face, "Good Commander Abraham, because I wanted to request joining Rouge with her current mission. It seems as if she needs assistance." Without looking away, Shadow crossed his arms, as well as his ankles.

The middle – aged Commander shook his head side to side, as he began to lean on his large chair, "I cannot risk another of my good agents to time travel at this moment. I appreciate you donating your heroic instincts, but I must decline your request." He knew that this wasn't the first time that Shadow had asked to time travel and Commander Abraham could not get use to Shadow's stubbornness.

Shadow raised his dark eyebrow, feeling this burning sensation on his chest. _Risk another good agent?_ Was he saying that there's a possibility of Rouge never coming back? The ebony hedgehog glared at his boss, not believing what he had just said, "With all due respect, Commander, but you must take this mission more seriously. Dr. Eggman is one of the most wanted villains and he may have the ability to overpower the entire world."

He stood up uncrossing his arms, as he still scowled at the Commander with bloody red eyes, "You must also understand my position as the Ultimate Life Form. I cannot just stand here with my arms crossed doing absolutely nothing. I wasn't created to be a lazy ass."

Shadow walked quickly towards the main door, leaving his irritated Commander alone in his office, _'If he won't allow me to travel to the Medieval Times to help Rouge save the world, then I'll have to rely on the yellow fox to make the time portal. I'm not letting that bastard keep Rouge in the past.'_

He was furious; Shadow was made to illuminate the peace in the land of Earth and he was going to do what he felt was best.

* * *

**5:47 P.M – Shadow's Condo**

The dark hedgehog dropped all of his body weight upon his grey couch, as he turned on his T.V. After a long day of work, he needed to relax. Everybody believed that it was exciting to work as a government agent but he didn't believe that; it was quite exhausting. Most of the time he would wake up at five in the morning and come back home at around eight at night. Other lucky days, Commander Abraham would let him go home at four or five in the afternoon, just like today.

'_Bazinga!' – _Click.

'_Breaking News! The Kardashians' – _Click.

'_Pero Gabriel! Porfavor, no me abandones! Sabes muy bien que te amo!' _– Click.

Shadow sighed tiredly, finding the T.V. programs completely useless and full of stupidity. He wanted to relax but his mind wouldn't stop reminding him of his best friend's safety.

'_What could she possibly be doing?'_

'_Was she alone? Insecure?'_

He had to admit; he missed her unexpected phone calls in the morning. His ruby colored eyes shifted to his cell phone, as his fingers gripped onto it. He began to scroll down to his caller's list, seeing that the majority of his calls were from Rouge.

"_Good Morning, handsome!" Her seductive yet sweet voice would ring in his triangular ear. _

"_Is there something you need, Rouge?" He answered rudely. He wasn't really a morning person. _

_Rouge lightly giggled knowing that Shadow hated being awakened by phone calls, but she loved hearing him annoyed as hell, "Nah, just wanted to hear your voice. Haven't heard it in over a week, you know?" _

_Shadow rolled his eyes, not in the mood for her flirty humor, "Well I must hang up. I'll see you at work." _

"_Don't miss me too much now, handsome!" _

Shadow unconsciously curved his tan lips into a faded smile. He missed her early bird phone calls. No matter how annoying he found them to be, he had to confess that he missed them. He wanted his best friend back safe and sound. Tails mentioned that creating a time portal could take quite some time and that it would take a few months, but god damn it, those were going to be the longest months ever.

Shadow already wanted to lock up Eggman in jail and get this over with.

He looked at his clock hanged on his kitchen wall. He decided to go to bed earlier and research more on time portals and Eggman's plan.

* * *

_He felt as if he couldn't breathe any second longer. His eyelids felt heavier, but he knew that they were definitely not going to raise any sooner. Shadow's vision slowly became blurrier as the seconds passed by. He knew that this was it. _

"_Shadow!" That voice. He knew who that belonged to. _

"_Shadow, please! Don't leave me like this!" Beautiful turquoise orbs looked down at him as her clear tears ran down her tan cheeks. He could feel her hot tears quickly hit his cold skin. _

_He wished he could speak to her. Say that everything would be fine; that she would soon be home. But the dark hedgehog just couldn't make a word come out of his mouth. Rouge, still in her tears and screaming, tried picking her ally up, "Someone! Please help!" _

_He felt his severe injuries. He knew that he was going to die. But at least the last person he would see would be his best friend; the only living creature he really cared about. _

_She was crying hysterically. He never liked seeing people he cared about sad. He found it quite irritating, but at that moment, it wasn't because he found it irritating, it was because he didn't like to see his best friend cry. She would always be in a happy mood. Nothing would ever ruin her vibe. _

_As he slowly shut his strong rose colored eyes forever, he saw his bat friend more in tears, "Noo! Shadow, you can't! Please, I beg of you, Shadow!" He could hear the echo of her uncontrollable sobs fading. _

"Agh!" Shadow quickly opened his eyes not believing what he had just envisioned. His bloody red eyes were wide opened, trying to take in all of the emotions in his dream.

He felt like he was dying in his dream. But why? Was it just a random dream? Or was it a message, a sign of some sort?

Shadow felt pretty confused and cautious at the same time.

_Rouge… batgirl…_

This was the second dream where he would find Rouge loudly crying; however he found it peculiar how he was dying. He felt as if he was going to die at any second. It was a scary feeling that he's never quite experienced. Of course, there was the time he fell off in space, fulfilling a friend's dying wish. For some odd reason, that dying feeling in his dream felt too real.

It frightened him for a moment…But he is the Ultimate Life Form, nothing should frighten him, especially death. Shadow couldn't forget Rouge's beautiful yet sad eyes. They looked scared, helpless, and vulnerable. It made him think…

Would Rouge really have the same reaction if he were to die?

Shadow shook his head side to side, washing out the ridiculous thoughts and foolish conclusions that he was making. He rolled his eyes just of having the thought of Rouge actually crying over him. What mattered at the moment was stopping Eggman from destroying anything and bringing back Rouge to the present. He didn't have time to think of such idiotism. Shadow shouldn't be worrying who cared about him and who didn't.

He tried to sleep a few more hours before heading to work and them doing his research for his side mission.

* * *

**6:11 A.M. – Shadow's Bedroom**

'_Gooooooood Morning, Station Square! Today seems to be a beauuutiful morning! So let's start –' _

"M'ugh…" Shadow effortlessly hit his alarm's snooze button with his large fist, not wanting to hear that stupid radio station. He quickly glanced at his clock, reading, '6:11 A.M.' Sure as hell didn't look like it was six in the morning. The damn moon was still there!

The dark hedgehog forcefully removed his sleepy body away from his warm bed, heading straight to the bathroom. He absolutely despised mornings. They never got along. Shadow splashed cold water onto his tired face, needing to push away his weary thoughts.

He was already running late to work, but no matter. He could easily come up with some excuse.

* * *

**8:49 P.M – Shadow's G.U.N. Office**

His small average sized office was completely pitch black dark, only the bright computer screen illuminating Shadow's concentrated face. His gloved fingers would not stop typing on the grey keyboard. He had spent most of his day researching on Time Portals, Eggman, and the Mideval Times. If he was going to time travel, he knew that he needed to be prepared. Shadow had gathered G.U.N.'s files on Rouge's current mission, Dr. Eggman's criminal file, and many other clues that had connected to his time traveling.

He needed to feel prepared for this battle. From what he found in his research, he needed to be careful onto not changing anything from the past, whether it was good or bad. If someone originally dies at a certain time and in a certain way, it must stay that way. If Shadow or anyone from the "future" was to prevent a historic movement, their present was most likely to change as well.

Time traveling was a serious matter. Shadow knew that this was going to be a challenging mission the moment he knew about 's time traveling.

* * *

**Sunset – Benwick Kingdom**

This kingdom was perhaps just as beautiful as Camelot. It took them all day long to arrive to the Benwick kingdom, but they had finally arrived. There were many villagers with their family, gorgeous weather, and the tall grey castle.

Rouge took a hidden glance towards the dark Medieval hedgehog, wanting to know why was he so quiet. Well, Lancelot seemed to be a pretty conservative guy and was a man of few words, but he felt too serious once they had arrived to his father's kingdom.

She looked away, observing his castle, "Not disappointing at all, Lancelot. Your kingdom -"

He quickly snapped at her, as he turned his head to Rouge's direction, "Thou must be puzzled, for this is not my kingdom." Lancelot didn't like the idea of coming back to his father's kingdom. Many memories would rush into his head. They were heartbreaking recalls that had practically traumatized the rest of his life, yet it made him stronger. Yes, this kingdom was Lancelot's but he never came back until this day.

Rouge's eyelids lowered, curious to know why Lancelot lived in Camelot and why was he just a noble knight to King Arthur. It made her think; doesn't that make him a prince or maybe even a King? She was very confused and she definitely needed answers quickly. She didn't know why she sensed a specific sadness in the dark hedgehog's tone of voice. She had to admit that it sort of worried her.

Once the white bat and the black hedgehog knight entered his father's main entrance, they were instantly received by noble knights of Benwick.

Two masked knights knelt with one knee, welcoming the Royalty of Camelot and Benwick, "Pray tell Lord Lancelot, how was thy travel?" Rouge glanced at the mysterious knight, seeing how tense he seemed when they called him Lord Lancelot. Why did it bother him so much? Shouldn't he feel proud to carry such a high class name?

"Safe yet we crossed many suns and moons. Prithee Knight of Benwick, escort Lady Guinevere to her dorm." The young knight nodded his head putting all of his attention to Rouge, while she watched her knight of Camelot walk to the other side of the castle.

While Rouge walked with the young knight, she decided to choose him as her puppet, "So Benwick, huh?"

"Indeed, Queen Guinevere. Though Lord Lancelot's visit was unexpected, his father's land welcomes him and thou splendidly." He answered respectfully.

"Oh? His father?" She asked innocently.

They had arrived to the room of her temporary stay, yet she still wanted to interrogate the boy, "Indeed thy Highness. King Ban of Benwick is missed greatly." He lowered his head.

Rouge raised her eyebrow already getting an idea of who this King Ban was, "Was he Lancelot's relative?"

He simply nodded his head, "Aye, yet his tragic death will forever be in the history of Benwick. Sadly, Lord Lancelot's sister, Princess Elaine, also deceased." The knight lowered his head, as he continued with the tragedy, "Benwick's enemy, Claudas de la Deserte and his army of wicked knights invaded our land. Princess Elaine spoke to our Lady of the Lake and took Lord Lancelot into safety. Claudas de la Desertethen viscously slayed King Ban and Princess Elaine after Lord Lancelot's escape."

Rouge's beautiful teal eyes softened, as she connected all the dots. Now she understood his uptight behavior, "…I suppose Benwick became an independent land afterwards, right?"

The knight nodded his head once more, "Aye Queen Guinevere. King Arthur of Camelot restored our kingdom with Lord Lancelot. I suppose Lord Lancelot abandoned his royal seat of Benwick, remembering his father and sister."

Rouge gave him a faint smile, wanting to dismiss the young boy, "Well, it seems as if it's already pretty late. Thank you very much, I know my way in."

"Of course, Lady Guinevere." She was finally left alone with her pondering thoughts. _'His past…it's so tragic.'_ All of this seemed too coincidental; she had more questions wondering around head. She felt pretty crazy to think that Sir Lancelot reminded her too much of Shadow. Everything related to Lancelot would connect back to her best friend.

She quietly made her way into the other side of the long hallway, remembering that the dark hedgehog walked to the right side of the beautiful castle. _'Where could his room be?'_

She didn't know if she was exaggerating but it definitely felt like she had been walking for about a minute down the hall and it still looked like there was a long way to the end. Rouge immediately stopped walking as she found an opened, illuminated door.

Curiosity killed the cat.

She slowly walked in, inhaling the familiar pine scent that Lancelot carried, "Hello?" No answer.

Rouge encouraged herself to explore through his spacious room. Everything was organized. But of course it look untouched since he rarely visits his hometown. Her eyes caught an interesting painting near a wooden carved desk. Her heart began to beat faster, seeing the familiar image. It was a young girl with medium blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes, "Maria?" Rouge loudly whispered.

The blonde girl rested her hand upon an elderly man's shoulder. He had long thick whiskers and completely bald, "Dr. Robotnik?" She couldn't believe what she was seeing. This had to be some sort of hallucination.

And then there was… Shadow? Rouge's eyes widened as she covered her mouth. _'Why does Lancelot look so much like Shadow?! This can't be it!'_

The white bat shook her head. She couldn't believe what her eyes were witnessing, no she wouldn't believe it. There was no way that Lancelot looked like Shadow. First Sonic and now this?

"Is thy exploration over, Lady Guinevere?" A rich yet low male voice was suddenly heard.

Rouge gasped loudly as she turned around, spotting Sir Lancelot in front of her with his arms crossed.


End file.
